Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

What was the point of the war in Afghanistan?

What was the point of the war in Afghanistan?

On 7 October 2001 President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom – the invasion of Afghanistan. The operation sought to bring the architects of 9/11 to justice and reduce the threat of terrorism.

Twenty years later, President Joe Biden has pledged to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by 31 August, bringing to a close the United States’s longest-ever conflict – known colloquially as ‘the forever war’.
But Biden, who supported the invasion, is pulling out at a time when the Taliban – the highly-conservative Islamic organisation that was harbouring al-Qaeda in 2001 – is sweeping through half the country, killing civilians and human-rights defenders and besieging three cities. The US withdrawal, at a time of grave uncertainty, reinforces the futility of its involvement in the first place.

Violence in Afghanistan was already increasing in May, when this final phase of the American withdrawal began. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of ‘huge consequences’ if the US army departed, and one of her predecessors, Condoleezza Rice, predicted that America would be forced to return to the country.

Given the Taliban’s recent military ascendence and its continued persecution of its opponents, it’s probable that the gains made by the fledgling Afghan state – such as in women’s rights – will soon be lost. Biden, who pledged to ‘protect and empower women around the world’ during his campaign for the presidency, will be very aware that forced marriages and sexual slavery could soon follow.

Biden defends the withdrawal on two grounds. The first is that a continued military presence is no longer in American interests. In an address last month, he maintained that the country has more pressing concerns: the coronavirus pandemic, the cyber-security threat, climate change, and what he described as a ‘strategic competition with China’.

Biden’s second justification – that the US is leaving because it has accomplished its original aims – is much more tenuous. In last month’s address, he maintained:

Bin Laden might be dead, but his organisation remains. According to Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British diplomat in the Middle East who now monitors al-Qaeda and the Taliban for the United Nations, ‘the al-Qaeda senior leadership is present in Afghanistan, present and co-located with the Taliban.’

Under the terms of the peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban, signed in Doha in February 2020, the Taliban are obliged to sever ties with al-Qaeda. Fitton-Brown, however, says that ‘the Taliban links to al-Qaeda are close. There is no suggestion that the Taliban has done anything substantive or decisive to live up to its obligations to suppress any future threat from al-Qaeda.’

In other words, if the Taliban do regain power, the US will be leaving Afghanistan in the kind of state that prompted it to invade in the first place.

Even Biden, who is trying to justify withdrawing from Afghanistan, does not anticipate good faith from the Taliban. Asked by journalists if he trusted the group, he replied, ‘Is that a serious question? No, I do not. But I trust the capacity of the Afghan military’

Biden also has an emotive argument. ‘How many thousands more of America’s daughters and sons are you willing to risk?’ he asked his detractors. ‘How long would you have them stay?’

There is logic to Biden’s move, especially if you believe that the only long-term solution to instability in Afghanistan is an intra-Afghan peace deal. The trouble is, the Taliban seem in a bellicose mood.

The US withdrawal might be the least-bad option, but it emphasises the pointlessness of the war. The American army is leaving a country it should never have entered, at a time when Afghanistan faces an existential threat that would return it to the pre-intervention status quo.

This is a war that has cost the US two trillion dollars. Thousands of Afghan and Nato troops have died. It led to the establishment of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp. Regardless of whether or not it is the right decision, the US withdrawal prompts the question – what was it all for?
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×