This archive report was first published on 6 July 2021.
US Intervention in Afghanistan: A 20-Year Timeline ¶
On September 11, 2001, the United States suffered a devastating terrorist attack, which led to the launch of 'Operation Enduring Freedom' in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. The operation aimed to overthrow the Taliban, who had been sheltering Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda movement.
Within weeks, US-led forces overthrew the Taliban, who had been in power since 1996. The operation marked the beginning of a 20-year conflict in Afghanistan.
- 2001: US-led forces overthrow the Taliban, and about 1,300 American soldiers are on the ground by November 2001, rising to almost 10,000 the next year.
- 2003: US forces invade Iraq, diverting American attention from Afghanistan, and the Taliban regroup in their strongholds in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
- 2008: The US command in Afghanistan calls for more manpower, and President Bush sends additional soldiers, bringing the total to 48,500 US troops deployed.
- 2009: President Barack Obama boosts the US presence to around 68,000, and in December, he sends another 30,000 troops, with the objective of stymying the growing Taliban insurgency and strengthening Afghan institutions.
- 2010: About 150,000 foreign soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan, of which 100,000 are American.
- 2011: Osama bin Laden is killed on May 2 in a US special forces operation in Pakistan.
- 2014: The NATO alliance ends its combat mission in Afghanistan in December, but around 12,500 foreign soldiers remain to train Afghan troops and conduct anti-terrorist operations.
- 2015: Security in Afghanistan deteriorates as the Taliban's insurgency spreads, with a branch of the Islamic State (IS) group also becoming active in South Asia.
- 2017: President Donald Trump scraps any timetables for a US pullout and re-commits thousands more soldiers, but deadly attacks multiply, especially against Afghan forces.
- 2020: The United States and the Taliban sign a historic deal on February 29, paving the way for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan by May 2021.
- 2021: Troop numbers fall to 2,500 by the end of President Trump's presidency in January, and President Joe Biden announces he will stick to the agreement with the Taliban, but delays the drawdown deadline until September 11.
On June 2, officials announce the departure of all US and NATO troops from Bagram, Afghanistan's biggest air base, signalling that the complete withdrawal of foreign forces is imminent.
