Taliban Victorious in Afghanistan; U.S. Evacuates 122,000

On August 15, 2021 , the nearly twenty-year war in Afghanistan reached a dramatic conclusion as the Taliban captured Kabul in a lightning advance that stunned the world. Provincial capitals had fallen in quick succession throughout the summer, and with Afghan government forces collapsing, Taliban fighters entered the capital virtually unopposed. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, signaling the total collapse of the Western-backed Afghan state. For the Taliban, it was a moment of triumph—ending two decades of U.S. and NATO military involvement and restoring them to power just as they had been in 2001.

The sudden fall of Kabul triggered a massive emergency evacuation effort led by the United States and its allies. American forces evacuated their embassy and secured Hamid Karzai International Airport , where chaotic scenes unfolded as desperate Afghans tried to flee the country. Over the next two weeks, a historic airlift took place: more than 122,000 people were flown out of Afghanistan , including American citizens, allied personnel, and tens of thousands of Afghan interpreters, workers, and families who had aided coalition forces. The evacuation ended on August 30, marking the official withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. The images of frantic crowds at the airport, the return of the Taliban to power, and the hasty U.S. departure left a lasting mark on both American foreign policy and Afghan society.

The surge in troops resulted in a significant increase in U.S. casualties, 496 killed in action in 2010 and 412 in 2011.

In May of 2011, U.S. forces found and killed Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist leader behind the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. He was in Pakistan.

Obama announced in June of 2011 that U.S. forces would begin a phased withdrawal, including 30,000 soldiers, by the end of the year.

By this time, there were tensions between U.S. forces and the Afghanis overnight raids as well prisoners. The U.S. government and the Afghani government reached Agreements in March and April 2012 that addressed both issues. In May 2014, an agreement was reached that specified that the U.S. and NATO would continue to support the Afghan government after combat troops left in 2014. In late September 2014, Ashraf Ghani was inaugurated as the new President. He signed the Bilateral Security Agreement that President Karzai had not been willing to sign. Under its terms, the U.S. and NATO formally ended their combat mission in Afghanistan on December 28, 2014, but retained a reduced force of approximately 13,000 troops to support and train Afghan troops.

The Trump administration in February 2020 negotiated a withdrawal agreement with the Taliban that excluded the Afghan government; under the terms of the agreement, the Afghan government was forced to free 5,000 imprisoned Taliban soldiers and set a date certain of May 1, 2021, for the final withdrawal. In addition, part of the agreement that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo negotiated called for the Taliban to break all ties with Al Qaeda. The Trump administration kept to the pact, reducing U.S. troop levels from about 13,000 to 2,500, even though the Taliban continued to attack Afghan government forces and welcomed al-Qaeda terrorists into the Taliban leadership.

When President Joe Biden became President, he halted the withdrawal temporarily, and after a review, set a new date: September 2021 for the complete withdrawal.

Starting in May 2021, as the U.S. and NATO troops withdrew, the Taliban stepped up their assaults.

On May 8, 2021, a bomb went off at a school in Kabul, killing 85 primarily students. During the course of the month, the U.S. withdrew from one of the largest airbases in Kandahar.

The Taliban seize districts in the northern provinces forcing the government to withdraw. On June 22, the Taliban took the border crossing at Shir Khan Bandar that controls the border with Tajikistan.

On July 2, the U.S. and NATO withdraw from Bagram airbase, which has been the center of U.S. activities in the country. Then, ON July 9, the Taliban capture Islam Qala, the largest border crossing with Iran. That is followed on July 14 by the capture of Spin Boldak, a crossing point into Pakistan.

On August 6, the Taliban assassinate the head of the government media center in Kabul. On the same day, they capture their first provincial capital, the city of Zaranj, without a fight.

On August 8th and 9th, the provincial capitals of Kunduz, along with Sheberghan, Sar-e-Pul, Taloqan, Aibak, and Farah, all fall to the Taliban.

On August 11, Faizabad and Pul-e-Khumri were also captured by the Taliban. Finally, on August 12, the Taliban capture Ghazni and Herat.

On August 13, the southern city of Kandahar is captured without a fight by the Taliban. On August 14, Asadabad, Gardez, and Mazar-i-Sharif all fall to the Taliban again without a fight.

On Sunday morning, August 15, Jalalabad is taken over by the Taliban. That left just Kabul. In mid-morning, Afghani President Ghani flees the capital and the country.

With Ghani gone, Afghan security personnel seemingly disappear from the capital. The Taliban give the U.S. the option of maintaining security in the capital, but the U.S. choose to reach an agreement to let the Taliban occupy Kabul. General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., Commander, United States Central Command, had met Taliban leaders in Qatar to secure an agreement in which the Taliban gave the U.S. assurance that it could maintain the airport for evacuation of American, foreign nationals, and Afghani until August 31.

The U.S. immediately began to evacuate its embassy in downtown Kabul. The U.S. used both helicopters and a land convoy to the airport. At the same time, the U.S. took complete control of Hamid Karzai International Airport, with the U.S. airforce taking over air traffic control. The U.S. also sent in 6,000 additional troops to maintain control of the airport. Initially, there were chaotic scenes at the airport with crowds assembling on the runway. In a symbolic picture of the events, a C-17 was mobbed with people who tried to stop the plane from leaving them behind. Two young people climbed into the wheel hub and later fell to their death as the plane ascended.

After a day of chaos in which all flights were halted, on August 17, evacuation flights resumed. Within a few days, dozens of large transports were landing daily, and by August 23, the allies reached over 21,000 evacuees in one day. On August 26, suicide bombers from ISIL-K exploded a bomb by the Abbey Gate of the airport. 13 U.S. service members were killed, and 18 were wounded. In addition, over 130 Afghans were killed and 150 wounded.

By August 29, evacuations began to wind down, with the British ending their efforts that day. On August 30, the U.S. flew its last evacuation flights and evacuated the U.S. soldiers that had been brought in to provide security. Among the last to be evacuated were Afghani security personnel, and their families that had been working with the U.S. were flown out. In total, over 122,000 people were evacuated from the airport in the two-week effort. The last person to board the last C-17 was Major General Chris Donahue, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division. At 11:59 PM local time, the C-17 was airborne. The war was over.2,361 Americans had given the ultimate sacrifice, and when it was over, the Taliban were once again in control of Afghanistan.