Page 15 - Anthology

AFGHANISTAN WAR
2001 - Present

“The War in Afghanistan (2001–present) refers to the intervention by NATO and allied forces in the
ongoing Afghan civil war. The war followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in an effort to
dismantle al-Qaeda and eliminate its safe haven by removing the Taliban from power.

U.S. President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden and expel al-
Qaeda. The Taliban requested that bin Laden leave the country but declined to extradite him without
evidence of his involvement in the 9/11 attacks. The United States refused to negotiate and launched
Operation Enduring Freedom on 7 October 2001, with the United Kingdom. The two were later joined by
other forces, including the Northern Alliance. The U.S. and allies drove the Taliban from power and built
military bases near major cities across the country. Most al-Qaeda and Taliban were not captured,
escaping to neighboring Pakistan or retreating to rural or remote mountainous regions.

In December 2001, the United Nations Security Council established the International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF), to oversee security in the country and train Afghanistan National Security Forces. At the
Bonn Conference in December 2001, Hamid Karzai was selected to head the Afghanistan Interim
Administration, which after a 2002 loya jirga in Kabul became the Afghanistan Transitional Administration.
In the popular elections of 2004, Karzai was elected president of the country, now named the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan.

On 2 May 2011, U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Abbotabad, Pakistan. About three weeks
later, NATO leaders endorsed an exit strategy for withdrawing their forces. UN-backed peace talks began
between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

As of 2013, tens of thousands of people had been killed in the war, mostly militants and civilians. In
addition, over 4,000 ISAF soldiers and civilian contractors as well as over 10,000 Afghan National
Security Forces had been killed. ”

Note: In May 2014, the United States announced that its combat operations would end in 2014, leaving
just a small residual force in the country until the end of 2016. As of the publication date of this book the
Afghanistan War continues to be fought.