The Afghanistan War

America's two decade-long war in Afghanistan concluded with the extremist Islamic group Taliban taking control over Afghanistan’s capital state Kabul, resulting in Taliban victory. This victory is directly due to the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

When the Taliban rose to power originally in 1995, they strictly enforced Sharia, a radical type of Islamic law, defined by extreme punishments, such as public executions for those who didn’t abide by their laws. Under their oppressive regime, women were denied not allowed to attend co-ed colleges and had to be fully veiled at all times.

On September 11, 2001, another Iraqi Terrorist group called Al-Qaeda hijacked airplanes and crashed them into the Twin Towers in New York. Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden became Washington’s prime suspect. He was based in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban. President Bush made an ultimatum, stating that either the Talian turn over al-Qaeda leaders, or the US will declare war on Afghanistan. The Taliban refuses to comply, so the US troops take control over Kabul. On December 6, 2001, the Taliban’s surrender, ending their overarching control over Afghanistan. 

During Obama’s presidency, plans to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan were never executed. In 2019, the Taliban and the US signed a peace agreement treaty that ensured that the US troops were able to safely withdraw under the Trump presidency. In April 2021, Biden announced plans to withdraw all US troops, and this plan was finally carried out around early August. In mid-August, as a consequence of US troop removal, the Taliban regained control over Kabul, Afghanistan. 

Currently, many Afghans are frantically trying to flee the country, seeking refuge from the Taliban’s oppressive rule. Some desperately cling onto airplanes as they take off, preferring inevitable death rather than life under the Taliban. In addition, terrorist group ISIS launched two suicide bombings outside of Kabul airport, killing 169 Afghans and 13 US military troops. The situation is dire, but their are many ways for non-Afghan citizens to help, such as providing housing to Afghans who escaped, reaching out to Congress and urging them to expand Afghan resettlement processes, and donating to charities that support this cause.

by SRIJA GHOSH