What Tactic Did Taliban Fighters Use to Reassert Control of Some Areas of Afghanistan?
An Al-Qaeda, Taliban Nexus
The Un Security Council adopts Resolution 1267, creating the and so-called al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Commission, which links the 2 groups every bit terrorist entities and imposes sanctions on their funding, travel, and artillery shipments. The UN move follows a period of clout for al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, who guided the terror group from Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan, in the late 1980s, to Sudan in 1991, and back to Afghanistan in the mid-1990s. The Taliban, which rose from the ashes of Afghanistan'southward postal service-Soviet civil war, provide al-Qaeda sanctuary for operations.
A Northern Brotherhood Assassination
Ahmad Shah Massoud, commander of the Northern Alliance, an anti-Taliban coalition, is assassinated by al-Qaeda operatives. The killing of Massoud, a main of guerilla warfare known as the Lion of the Panjshir, deals a serious blow to the anti-Taliban resistance. Terrorism experts believe his assassination assured bin Laden protection by the Taliban later the 9/11 attacks. Expert Peter Bergen later calls Massoud's assassination "the curtain raiser for the attacks on New York City and Washington, DC."
Terrorists Strike the U.S.
Al-Qaeda operatives hijack four commercial airliners, crashing them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A 4th plane crashes in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Close to three 1000 people die in the attacks. Although Afghanistan is the base for al-Qaeda, none of the nineteen hijackers are Afghan nationals. Mohammed Atta, an Egyptian, led the group, and xv of the hijackers originated from Saudi arabia. U.Due south. President George W. Bush vows to "win the war against terrorism," and later zeros in on al-Qaeda and bin Laden in Afghanistan. Bush-league eventually calls on the Taliban regime to "deliver to the United States government all the leaders of al-Qaeda who hibernate in your land," or share in their fate.
A War Ground
President Bush signs into law a joint resolution authorizing the use of force confronting those responsible for attacking the United States on September eleven. This joint resolution will later exist cited past the Bush administration as legal rationale for its decision to have sweeping measures to combat terrorism, including invading Transitional islamic state of afghanistan, eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without a court social club, and standing upwards the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Opening Salvo
The U.South. military, with British back up, begins a bombing campaign against Taliban forces, officially launching Operation Enduring Freedom. Australia, Canada, France, and Germany pledge future support. The state of war'due south early phase [PDF] mainly involves U.South. air strikes on al-Qaeda and Taliban forces that are assisted by a partnership of about i thousand U.South. special forces, the Northern Alliance, and ethnic Pashtun anti-Taliban forces. The get-go wave of conventional regular army arrives twelve days later on. Nigh of the footing combat is between the Taliban and its Afghan opponents.
The Taliban in Retreat
The Taliban regime unravels rapidly afterward its loss at Mazar-east-Sharif on November nine, 2001, to forces loyal to Abdul Rashid Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek military leader. Over the next week Taliban strongholds crumble afterward coalition and Northern Alliance offensives on Taloqan (November 11), Bamiyan (November 11), Herat (November 12), Kabul (November xiii), and Jalalabad (Nov xiv). On November 14, the UN Security Council passes Resolution 1378, calling for a "primal role" for the United Nations in establishing a transitional administration and inviting member states to send peacekeeping forces to promote stability and help delivery.
Bin Laden Escapes
After tracking al-Qaeda leader bin Laden to the well-equipped Tora Bora cave circuitous southeast of Kabul, Afghan militias engage in a fierce 2-week battle (Dec 3 to 17) with al-Qaeda militants. Information technology results in a few hundred deaths and the eventual escape of bin Laden, who is thought to have left for Islamic republic of pakistan on horseback on Dec 16—but a mean solar day before Afghan forces capture twenty of his remaining men. Despite intelligence pointing to bin Laden's presence in Tora Bora, U.S. forces do not pb the set on, which is carried out past a ragtag Afghan contingent led by Hazrat Ali, Haji Zaman, and Haji Zahir. Some critics will later question why U.S. forces did not accept a more than assertive office in the engagement.
An Interim Government
After the fall of Kabul in November 2001, the United Nations invites major Afghan factions, nigh prominently the Northern Alliance and a group led by the former king (but not the Taliban), to a briefing in Bonn, Frg. On Dec 5, 2001, the factions sign the Bonn Understanding, endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 1383. The agreement, reportedly reached with substantial Iranian diplomatic help considering of Iran'southward support for the Northern Alliance faction, installs Hamid Karzai as interim administration caput, and creates an international peacekeeping force to maintain security in Kabul. The Bonn Agreement is followed past United nations Security Quango Resolution 1386 on December 20, which establishes the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.
The Taliban Plummet
The finish of the Taliban government is by and large tied to this date, when the Taliban surrender Kandahar [PDF] and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar flees the city, leaving it under tribal law administered by Pashtun leaders. Despite the official fall of the Taliban, all the same, al-Qaeda leaders continue to hide out in the mountains.
Operation Anaconda, the first major ground attack and the largest operation since Tora Bora, is launched against an estimated eight hundred al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the Shah-i-Kot Valley south of the city of Gardez (Paktia Province). Nearly two thousand U.S. and k Afghan troops boxing the militants. Despite the operation's size, still, Anaconda does not stand for a broadening of the war effort. Instead, Pentagon planners begin shifting military and intelligence resources abroad from Afghanistan in the direction of Saddam Hussein's Republic of iraq, which is increasingly mentioned as a principal U.S. threat in the "war on terror."
Reconstructing Afghanistan
President Bush calls for the reconstruction of Afghanistan in a speech at the Virginia Armed services Institute. "By helping to build an Afghanistan that is free from this evil and is a better place in which to alive, we are working in the best traditions of George Marshall," he says, evoking the post-World War II Marshall Plan that revived Western Europe. Just the Usa and its allies do non come close to Marshall Plan-like reconstruction spending for Transitional islamic state of afghanistan. The U.S. Congress appropriates over $38 billion in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2009.
Transitional Authorities Named
Chairman of the Interim Administration of Afghanistan Karzai is picked is picked to head the state'south transitional regime. His selection comes during an emergency loya jirga assembled in Kabul, attended by one,550 delegates (including about 200 women) from Afghanistan'southward 364 districts. Karzai, leader of the powerful Popalzai tribe of Durrani Pashtuns, returned to Afghanistan from Islamic republic of pakistan after the 9/11 attacks to organize Pashtun resistance to the Taliban. Some observers allege Karzai tolerates corruption by members of his clan and his regime. The Northern Alliance, dominated by ethnic Tajiks, fails in its endeavor to set up a prime ministership, but does succeed in checking presidential powers past assigning major government to the elected parliament, such as the power to veto senior official nominees and to impeach a president.
Establishing a Reconstruction Model
The U.Due south. military creates a civil affairs framework to coordinate redevelopment with the Un and nongovernmental organizations and to expand the authority of the Kabul government. These then-called provincial reconstruction teams, or PRTs, are stood up first in Gardez in November, followed past Bamiyan, Kunduz, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Herat. Command for individual PRTs is eventually handed over to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) states. While credited with improving security for aid agencies, the model is non universally praised. Concern mounts that the PRT system lacks central controlling authorization, is disorganized, and creates what a U.South. Institute of Peace report calls "an ad hoc approach" to security and development. Such criticism grows across the PRT program and becomes a mutual theme in the NATO war endeavour, every bit a maze of national caveats restricts the activities of member forces. Critics fence this limits the coalition'south effectiveness.
'Major Combat' Over
During a briefing with reporters in Kabul, U.S. Secretarial assistant of Defense force Donald Rumsfeld declares an end to "major combat." The announcement coincides with President Bush's "mission achieved" declaration of an end to fighting in Iraq. Rumsfeld says President Bush-league, U.Due south. Cardinal Command Main Gen. Tommy Franks, and Afghan President Karzai "have concluded that we are at a betoken where we clearly have moved from major gainsay activeness to a period of stability and stabilization and reconstruction and activities." In that location are just viii thousand U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. It is predicted that the transition from combat to reconstruction will open the door for many aid organizations, particularly European groups, that had balked at sending troops, supplies, or other assistance.
An International Mission
NATO assumes command of international security forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan, expanding NATO/ISAF'south role across the land. It is NATO's get-go operational delivery outside of Europe. Originally tasked with securing Kabul and its surrounding areas, NATO expands in September 2005, July 2006, and Oct 2006. The number of ISAF troops grows appropriately, from an initial 5 one thousand to effectually lx-v thousand troops from 40-2 countries, including all 20-viii NATO member states. In 2006, ISAF assumes command of the international military forces in eastern Afghanistan from the U.Due south.-led coalition, and also becomes more than involved in intensive combat operations in southern Afghanistan.
A Constitution for Afghanistan
An assembly of 502 Afghan delegates agrees on a constitution for Transitional islamic state of afghanistan, creating a strong presidential system intended to unite the country's various indigenous groups. The human activity is seen equally a positive step toward democracy. "Afghans have seized the opportunity provided by the The states and its international partners to lay the foundation for autonomous institutions and provide a framework for national elections," declares U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad.
A New President for Afghanistan
In historic national balloting, President Karzai becomes the start democratically elected head of Transitional islamic state of afghanistan. Voters plow out in loftier numbers despite threats of violence and intimidation. Karzai wins with 55 percent of the vote, while his closest rival, former instruction minister Younis Qanooni, polls 16 percentage. Karzai'south election victory is marred by accusations of fraud by his opponents and by the kidnapping of iii foreign UN ballot workers by a militant grouping. Simply the election is nonetheless hailed every bit a victory for the fragile nation; Afghans had not gone to the polls since 1969, when they cast ballots in parliamentary elections during the reign of King Mohammed Zahir Shah.
Bin Laden Surfaces
Signaling the persistent challenges facing the U.Southward.-led coalition in Afghanistan, bin Laden releases a videotaped bulletin three weeks after the country'southward presidential ballot and just days earlier the U.S. election, which President Bush-league wins. In remarks aired on the Arab television network Al Jazeera, bin Laden taunts the Bush-league administration and takes responsibility for the attacks on September 11, 2001. "We want to restore freedom to our nation, merely as you lay waste matter to our nation," bin Laden says.
An Indelible U.S. Commitment
Afghan President Karzai and U.Due south. President Bush issue a joint annunciation that pronounces their respective countries strategic partners. The declaration gives U.S. forces access to Afghan military machine facilities to prosecute "the war against international terror and the struggle against tearing extremism." The alliance's goal, the understanding says, is to "strengthen U.S.-Afghan ties and assist ensure Afghanistan's long-term security, republic, and prosperity." Moreover, the understanding calls for Washington to "assist organize, train, equip, and sustain Afghan security forces every bit Afghanistan develops the capacity to undertake this responsibleness," and to continue to rebuild the country's economy and political democracy.
Democracy and Afghanistan
More than six million Afghans turn out to vote for the Wolesi Jirga (Quango of People), the Meshrano Jirga (Council of Elders), and local councils. Considered the near democratic elections always in Afghanistan, near half those casting ballots are women, viewed as a sign of political progress in a highly patriarchal and conservative society. Sixty-eight out of 249 seats are set bated for female members of Afghanistan's lower business firm of parliament and 23 out of 102 are reserved in the upper house.
A Encarmine Resurgence
Violence increases across the land during the summertime months, with intense fighting erupting in the south in July. The number of suicide attacks quintuples from 27 in 2005 to 139 in 2006, while remotely detonated bombings more than double, to ane,677. Despite a cord of recent election successes, some experts blame a faltering central government for the spike in attacks. "As with most insurgencies, the disquisitional precondition [to the Afghan insurgency] is the collapse of governance," says Transitional islamic state of afghanistan skillful Seth G. Jones. Jones and other experts point to the many Afghans who lack basic services, the regime's difficultly setting up its law forces, and the lack of international forces to assist with security.
Cracks in the Coalition
At the NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, rifts emerge among member states on troop commitments to Afghanistan. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer sets a target of 2008 for the Afghan National Army to brainstorm to take control of security. "I would hope that by 2008 we will accept made considerable progress," he says, "with a more stable political architecture in place, and with a strong interface betwixt NATO and the civilian agencies and effective, trusted Afghan security forces gradually taking control." Leaders of the twenty-six countries agree to remove some national restrictions on how, when, and where forces can be used. But friction continues. With violence against nongovernmental aid workers increasing, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates criticizes NATO countries in belatedly 2007 for not sending more than soldiers. "Our progress in Afghanistan is real only information technology is fragile," Gates says. "At this fourth dimension, many allies are unwilling to share the risks, commit the resources, and follow through on collective commitments to this mission and to each other. As a effect, we take chances assuasive what has been achieved in Afghanistan to slip away."
A Taliban Commander Falls
A notorious Taliban military commander, Mullah Dadullah, is killed in a joint operation by Afghan, U.S., and NATO forces in the southward of Afghanistan. Dadullah is believed to have been a leader of guerrilla forces in the war in Helmand Province, deploying suicide bombers and ordering the kidnapping of Westerners. He one time told the BBC that hundreds of suicide bombers awaited his control to launch an offensive confronting foreign troops.
Collateral Killings Mount
Afghan and UN investigations notice that errant fire from a U.S. gunship killed dozens of Afghan civilians in the Shindand District of western Herat Province, drawing condemnation from Afghan President Karzai and bolstering Taliban claims that coalition forces are unable to protect the population. U.S. military officials dispute the death price in this incident every bit well as claims that a separate incident in Farah Province left equally many equally 140 civilians dead. After existence named top U.South. commander in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan in mid-2009, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal orders an overhaul of U.Southward. air strike procedures. "We must avert the trap of winning tactical victories, but suffering strategic defeats, by causing civilian casualties or excessive impairment and thus alienating the people," the full general writes.
Obama Recommits to Afghanistan
Newly elected U.South. President Barack Obama announces plans to ship seventeen yard more than troops to the war zone. Obama reaffirms entrada statements that Afghanistan is the more important U.S. forepart against terrorist forces. He says the United States volition stick to a timetable to describe downwardly virtually combat forces from Republic of iraq past the end of 2011. As of January 2009 the Pentagon has thirty-seven one thousand troops in Afghanistan, roughly divided betwixt U.Southward. and NATO commands. Reinforcements focus on countering a "resurgent" Taliban and stemming the flow of foreign fighters over the Afghan-Pakistan border in the due south. Speaking on the troop increase, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates describes the original mission in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan every bit "too broad" and calls for establishing limited goals such as preventing and limiting terrorist safe havens.
A New American Strategy
President Obama announces a new strategy for the war effort, linking success in Afghanistan to a stable Pakistan. The core goal of the strategy, every bit outlined in an interagency white newspaper, is "to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda and its safe havens in Islamic republic of pakistan, and to forbid their return to Pakistan or Afghanistan." The strategy urges the passage of increased aid to Pakistan and a strict standard of measuring progress in fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Plans besides call for the deployment of an additional four thousand soldiers to help train the Afghan army and constabulary strength. Afghan President Karzai welcomes the strategy, stating that the plan volition bring Afghanistan and the international community closer to success.
A Different Phone call to NATO
Senior U.S. military officials and commanders, altering course from the Bush-league assistants, phone call on NATO nations to supply non-armed services assets to Afghanistan. Officials stress the need for NATO members to step up in edifice Afghan civil society, such every bit providing resources for PRTs. A two-day NATO summit in early April ends with a hope by NATO nations to transport an additional v m troops to train the Afghan regular army and police force, and to provide security for the country's August presidential election.
Command Alter
Secretarial assistant of Defense Robert Gates replaces the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David D. McKiernan, with counterinsurgency and special operations guru Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal. McKiernan's removal comes eleven months after he assumed command of NATO forces in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan. Gates says the Pentagon needs "fresh thinking" and "fresh eyes" on the Afghanistan war at a time when many analysts say operations there are spiraling out of control. Reports indicate that the appointment of McChrystal is intended to bring a more "aggressive and innovative" approach to the Afghan state of war effort in tune with a more focused counterinsurgency strategy.
New Strategy, Onetime Battles
U.S. Marines launch a major offensive in southern Afghanistan, representing a major test for the U.South. military'southward new animus strategy. The offensive, involving four thousand Marines, is launched in response to a growing Taliban insurgency in the land's southern provinces, specially Helmand Province. The operation focuses on restoring government services, bolstering local police forces, and protecting civilians from Taliban incursion. By August 2009 U.Due south. forces are to number betwixt sixty one thousand and sixty-eight thousand.
Afghan Presidential Election
Later more than two months of incertitude following a disputed presidential election on August 20, Afghan President Karzai wins another term. The August 20 ballot, which pitted Karzai confronting top contenders Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, was marred past fraud allegations. An investigation past the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission finds Karzai won only 49.67 percentage of the vote, below the 50 percent-plus-ane threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Under international pressure, Karzai agrees to a runoff vote on Nov 7. But a week before the runoff, Karzai'southward main rival Abdullah pulls out, and Karzai is declared the winner. Concerns over Karzai's legitimacy grow, and the United States and other international partners call for improved governance. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ties all futurity civilian aid to greater efforts by the Karzai administration to gainsay corruption.
Obama's Afghan Surge
Nine months later renewing the U.S. commitment to the Afghan war try, President Obama announces a major escalation of the U.South. mission. In a nationally televised speech, the president commits an boosted thirty thousand forces to the fight, on top of the sixty-eight thou in place. These forces, Obama says, "will increase our power to railroad train competent Afghan Security Forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can go into the fight. And they will aid create the weather condition for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans." For the first time in the 8-twelvemonth war effort, a time frame is put on the U.S. armed services presence, as Obama sets July 2011 as the start of a troop drawdown. Simply the president does non detail how long a drawdown will take. Obama says U.Southward. national interests are linked to success in the Afghan state of war effort, and argues that this temporary surge will force Afghan political and military machine institutions to presume responsibility for their ain affairs.
Gen. McChrystal Relieved From Afghan Control
General McChrystal is relieved of his post every bit commander of U.Due south. forces in Afghanistan, following a controversial Rolling Rock commodity in which he and his aides were quoted criticizing the administration. President Obama nominates Full general David Petraeus, head of the military'southward Central Control and architect of the 2007 Iraq surge, to replace McChrystal. The change in command comes at a crucial time in the state of war, every bit additional surge forces are scheduled to arrive alee of a critical operation in Kandahar. Obama emphasizes that his acceptance of McChrystal's resignation does not reflect disagreement over the counterinsurgency strategy he had helped shape. "We are in total understanding about our strategy," says Obama. "This is a modify in personnel, not a alter in policy."
Timetable for Security Transition
At a summit in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO fellow member countries sign a declaration agreeing to paw over full responsibility for security in Afghanistan to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. The transition process is set to brainstorm in July 2011, with local security forces taking over control in relatively stable provinces and cities. The initial handover is to coincide with the start of a drawdown in the i hundred thousand-stiff contingent of U.South. troops deployed in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan, though the number of U.S. soldiers leaving is expected to be a token amount. But many in Afghanistan and in the West, including members of the Afghan parliament, are concerned about the ability of national forces to take over from international troops.
Bin Laden Killed
Al-Qaeda leader bin Laden, responsible for the nine/11 attacks, is killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan. The death of the Usa' primary target for a war that started ten years ago fuels the long-simmering debate about standing the Afghanistan state of war. As President Obama prepares to announce the withdrawal of some or all of the thirty m surge troops in July, congressional lawmakers increasingly call for a hastened drawdown of U.Southward. troops, though some analysts fence for a sustained military engagement. Meanwhile, anti-Pakistan rhetoric grows in Afghanistan, where officials have long blamed terrorist safe havens in Pakistan for violence in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan. Afghan President Karzai reiterates that international forces should focus their military efforts beyond the edge in Pakistan. "For years we have said that the fight against terrorism is not in Afghan villages and houses," he says.
Obama Announces Troop Drawdown
President Obama outlines a program to withdraw 30-three thousand troops by the summertime of 2012—the surge troops sent in December 2009—including 10 thousand by the end of 2011. Polls show a record number of Americans do not back up the war, and Obama faces pressure from lawmakers, particularly Democrats, to sizably reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Later the surge troops leave, an estimated 70 thou U.S. troops are scheduled to stay through at to the lowest degree 2014. Obama confirms that the U.S. is property preliminary peace talks with the Taliban leadership. With reconciliation in listen, the United nations Security Council days earlier splits a sanctions list between members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, making it easier to add and remove people and entities.
Ten Years of War
The U.S. war in Afghanistan marks its tenth anniversary, with nigh hundred one thousand U.S. troops deployed in a animus role, primarily in southern and eastern regions. President Obama plans to withdraw all combat troops by 2014, but serious doubts remain near the Afghan government'southward capacity to secure the country. Amid a resilient insurgency, U.S. goals in Afghanistan remain uncertain and terrorist safe havens in Pakistan go along to undermine U.Southward. efforts. A decade in, the war's tolls include 1,800 U.S. troop casualties and $444 billion in spending. The costs accept eroded U.S. public support, with a global economic downturn, a nine.one percent unemployment rate, and a $1.three trillion annual budget deficit. While in that location are military gains, hopes for a deal with the Taliban to help wind downwards the conflict remain riddled with setbacks. Afghan President Karzai suspends the talks post-obit the September twenty assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani, the government's chief negotiator, which Afghan officials blame on the Pakistan-based Haqqani network. The group denies it.
Bonn Conference
Ten years after the first international conference that discussed Afghanistan's political future, dozens of countries and organizations meet once more in Bonn, Germany, to devise a roadmap of cooperation beyond the international troop withdrawal in 2014. Afghan President Karzai says the country will require $ten billion annually over the next decade to shore up security and reconstruction, and commits to tackling abuse in exchange for continued international aid. The conference fails to accomplish its objectives—to lay down a blueprint for Afghanistan's transition to a self-sustaining and secure government—as the insurgency continues to rage, and Islamic republic of pakistan, a crucial player, refuses to attend.
Taliban Cancel Talks; U.Due south.-Afghan Tensions Flare
In January, the Taliban strike a deal to open an office in Qatar, a move toward peace talks that the United states of america sees every bit a crucial part of a political settlement to ensure a stable Afghanistan. But two months subsequently, the Taliban suspend preliminary talks, accusing Washington of reneging on promises to take meaningful steps toward a prisoner bandy. In February, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announces the Pentagon'southward plan to conclude combat missions by as early on as mid-2013 and shift to a primarily security aid role in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan. Meanwhile, several incidents serve as blows to the international mission, including an accidental burning of Qurans by U.S. troops and allegations that a U.S. soldier murdered at to the lowest degree sixteen Afghan villagers. Afghan President Karzai demands that strange troops be withdrawn from village outposts and confined to military bases, which analysts say would greatly accelerate the pace of transition from NATO to Afghan control.
Afghan Security Takeover Completed
Afghan forces take the lead in security responsibility nationwide as NATO hands over control of the remaining 90-five districts. The U.Southward.-led coalition's focus shifts to military training and special operations-driven counterterrorism. The handover occurs on the aforementioned twenty-four hours equally the announcement that Taliban representatives and U.S. officials will resume talks in Doha, Qatar, where the Taliban have just opened an role. Afghan President Karzai, believing the function volition confer legitimacy on the insurgent group and serve equally a diplomatic outpost, suspends negotiations with the U.s.a.. With its mandate expiring in Dec 2014, the United States must negotiate a bilateral security agreement with the Karzai authorities to maintain a military presence.
Obama Announces U.Due south. Troop Withdrawal
President Obama announces a timetable for withdrawing most U.S. forces from Afghanistan past the end of 2016. The first stage of his plan calls for 9,800 U.S. troops to remain after the gainsay mission concludes at the terminate of 2014, limited to training Afghan forces and conducting operations against "the remnants of al-Qaeda." Obama says the drawdown volition free resources for counterterrorism priorities elsewhere. Some analysts point to the insurgency'southward resilience and question the program'southward rigidity. Both candidates vying to succeed Afghan President Karzai have promised to sign the security agreement that is a prerequisite of any mail-2014 U.S. troop presence.
Ghani, Abdullah Concur to Unity Government
Newly elected Afghan President Ghani signs a power-sharing understanding with his chief opponent, Abdullah, who had mobilized thousands of protesters every bit he challenged the voting results. The agreement, brokered later on intensive diplomacy by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, establishes the role of chief executive for Abdullah. While the understanding staves off ceremonious unrest, information technology ushers in protracted authorities dysfunction as Ghani and Abdullah tussle over their respective prerogatives, such every bit appointments to security posts, at a time when the Taliban are making gains in the countryside. Ghani, a former World Bank specialist, is a Pashtun from the land's south, like Karzai, simply is seen by the Obama assistants every bit a welcome change. Karzai had railed against civilian casualties in the U.S. war effort and was seen equally fostering public corruption.
U.S. Attacks Islamic State Redoubt
The U.s.a. drops its most powerful not-nuclear bomb on suspected self-proclaimed Islamic Country militants at a cave complex in eastern Nangarhar Province. The weapon, known colloquially every bit "the mother of all bombs," comes as newly elected President Donald Trump delegates decision-making government to commanders, including the possibility of adding several thousand U.Due south. troops to the almost nine thou already deployed in that location. (In that location are nearly as many U.S. contractors as well.) The bombing casts a spotlight on the emergence of the Islamic Country in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan. At the same time, the Taliban appear to exist as stiff as ever, and the U.S. military describes the war as a stalemate. Kabul experiences suicide bombings [PDF] on a scale never before seen, while the Taliban control or contest more a third [PDF] of the country. U.Due south. Marines are once over again dispatched to Helmand Province.
Trump Signals Prolonged Afghan War
President Trump outlines his Afghanistan policy in an address to troops in Arlington, Virginia, maxim that though his "original instinct was to pull out," he will instead press alee with an open-ended armed services commitment to forestall the emergence of "a vacuum for terrorists." Differentiating his policy from Obama's, Trump says decisions nigh withdrawal will be based on "atmospheric condition on the ground," rather than arbitrary timelines. He invites India to play a greater role in rebuilding Afghanistan while punitive Pakistan for harboring insurgents. He also pledges to loosen restrictions on combat even as the Un reports an uptick [PDF] in civilian casualties caused past Afghan and coalition air strikes. A political settlement with the Taliban, Trump says, is far off.
Taliban Launch Major Attacks Amongst U.Southward. Escalation
The Taliban conduct out a serial of assuming terror attacks in Kabul that kill more than 115 people among a broader upsurge in violence. The attacks come as the Trump administration implements its Afghanistan programme, deploying troops beyond rural Afghanistan to suggest Afghan brigades and launching air strikes against opium labs to try to decimate the Taliban's finances. The administration also cuts off security assistance worth billions of dollars to Islamic republic of pakistan for what President Trump chosen its "lies and cant" in harboring Taliban militants. Critics of the National Unity Government say domestic politics—notably a showdown with a provincial governor—have distracted Afghan President Ghani from security.
U.S.-Taliban Peace Talks Progress
Negotiations between the United States and the Taliban in Doha enter their highest level yet, edifice on momentum that began in late 2018. The talks between U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and summit Taliban official Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar heart on the U.s. withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the Taliban pledging to block international terrorist groups from operating on Afghan soil. The ramped-up affairs follows signals that President Trump plans to pull out seven thousand troops, nearly half the full U.S. deployment. Khalilzad says the United States volition insist that the Taliban agree to participate in an intra-Afghan dialogue on the land'south political structure, besides every bit a cease-fire. It is unclear whether Trump will status the troop withdrawal on those terms.
Trump Calls Off Peace Talks
President Trump abruptly breaks off peace talks a week after summit U.Due south. negotiator Khalilzad appear that an agreement had been reached "in principle" with Taliban leaders. In a tweet, Trump says he canceled a hole-and-corner coming together with the Taliban and Afghan President Ghani at Camp David after a U.S. soldier was killed in a Taliban attack. The Taliban say they are "committed to continuing negotiations," just warn that the counterfoil will cause an increase in the number of deaths.
U.S., Taliban Sign Deal on Path to Peace
U.Due south. envoy Khalilzad and the Taliban's Baradar sign an agreement [PDF] that paves the fashion for a significant drawdown of U.South. troops in Afghanistan and includes guarantees from the Taliban that the land will not be used for terrorist activities. The deal says intra-Afghan negotiations should begin the following month, only Afghan President Ghani says the Taliban must encounter his government's own conditions before information technology enters talks. The U.South.-Taliban deal doesn't call for an immediate stop-fire, and in the days later on its signing, Taliban fighters carry out dozens of attacks on Afghan security forces. U.Due south. forces reply with an air strike against the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand.
Intra-Afghan Peace Talks Begin
Representatives of the Taliban and of the Afghan government and civil society meet face to confront for the commencement time in Doha, Qatar, afterwards nearly twenty years of war. The direct negotiations, which were delayed for months over a prisoner bandy proposed in the earlier U.Southward.-Taliban bargain, begin after the Afghan government completes the release of five thousand Taliban prisoners. During opening remarks, both sides express eagerness to bring peace to Afghanistan and institute a framework for Afghan society afterwards U.S. troops withdraw. The government pushes for a cease-fire, while the Taliban reiterate their call for the country to be governed through an Islamic system.
U.S. Announces Troop Withdrawal
Interim U.Southward. Defense force Secretary Christopher C. Miller announces plans to halve the number of troops in Afghanistan to two,500 by mid-January, days before President-Elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated. Thousands of troops had already been pulled out following an agreement with the Taliban in Feb, moving closer to fulfilling President Trump'due south campaign promise to end the and so-chosen forever wars. The announcement comes as negotiations betwixt the Afghan regime and the Taliban are deadlocked and the militant group continues to launch mortiferous attacks. NATO Secretary-Full general Jens Stoltenberg warns that withdrawing troops too early could allow Transitional islamic state of afghanistan to become a haven for terrorists and the Islamic State to rebuild its caliphate.
Biden Decides on Complete U.S. Withdrawal by 9/11
President Biden announces that the U.s.a. will not meet the deadline set nether the U.Due south.-Taliban understanding to withdraw all troops by May 1 and instead releases a plan for a full withdrawal by September xi, 2021. "It'south time to end America's longest state of war," he says. The remaining iii,500 troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn regardless of whether progress is made in intra-Afghan peace talks or the Taliban reduce their attacks on Afghan security forces and citizens. NATO troops in Afghanistan will too leave. Biden says Washington will continue to assist Afghan security forces and back up the peace process. The Taliban say they volition not participate in "any conference" on Transitional islamic state of afghanistan's future until all foreign troops exit.
Afghan Government Collapses as the Taliban Accept Kabul
Facing piddling resistance, Taliban fighters overrun the majuscule, Kabul, and take over the presidential palace hours after President Ghani leaves the land. Taliban leaders say they will concur talks with Afghan officials to form an "open, inclusive Islamic government." Former Afghan President Karzai and Abdullah, formerly the primary executive nether Ghani, create a quango to facilitate a peaceful transition to a Taliban government. The takeover follows the Taliban's rapid advance, during which they captured all but ii of Transitional islamic state of afghanistan's provincial capitals and seized border crossings. Afghan security forces in some areas reportedly negotiated surrenders and avoided fighting the Taliban.
Biden Defends Withdrawal
President Biden says his administration made the right determination in catastrophe U.S. military involvement in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan, arguing that the U.South. counterterrorism mission is consummate. Merely he acknowledges that the troop withdrawal has been "messy" and blames Afghan security forces for failing to counter the Taliban. Meanwhile, the U.s. deploys six thou troops to evacuate U.S. and allied personnel and secure Kabul's international airdrome, where chaos erupts every bit thousands of Afghans endeavour to abscond. Biden says the armed forces will assist evacuate thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.s.a., and he expands refugee-status access for vulnerable Afghans.
Thirteen U.Due south. Service Members Killed Amid Scramble to Withdraw
Thirteen U.S. service members are killed and at least eighteen are injured in an attack at a checkpoint outside the Kabul airport, where thousands of people are beingness evacuated. They are the kickoff U.S. service members killed in action in Afghanistan since February 2020. At least 170 Afghans are as well killed. The Islamic Country in Khorasan claims responsibility, and several days after, the United States launches an air strike targeting a suspected plotter from the group. However, the Pentagon subsequently admits that the strike was a "mistake" and killed 10 civilians, including 7 children.
Twenty-Yr War Ends as U.Southward. Completes Withdrawal
The final U.South. war machine forces depart Afghanistan, leaving it under Taliban rule. The exit follows a chaotic, 2-week withdrawal procedure during which more than 120,000 people are evacuated. The next day, President Biden says the United States should learn from its mistakes and that the withdrawal marks the end of "an era of major military operations to remake other countries." Thousands of Afghans who assisted the United States and its allies, equally well as up to two hundred Americans, remain in Afghanistan. U.S. Secretary of Land Antony Blinken says Washington volition work to get them out and that future U.S. engagement in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan volition focus on diplomacy.
Source: https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan
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