Afghanistan Peace CampaignOn that day, four passenger planes were hijacked in the United States.
Today marks 25 years since the September 11, 2001 attacks, which not only changed the course of US foreign and security policy but also triggered a war in Afghanistan that lasted nearly two decades.
On that day, four passenger planes were hijacked in the United States. Two of the planes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York shortly before 9 a.m., and both towers collapsed hours later.
A third plane struck the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, near Washington, while the fourth plane, which was believed to be targeting the US Capitol, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers resisted the hijackers.
George W. Bush said: “Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.”
Nearly 3,000 people from 90 countries were killed in the attacks, and about 25,000 others were injured. Al-Qaeda was held responsible for the attacks, after which Washington made the fight against terrorism a central part of its security policy.
A few weeks after the attacks, US forces, backed by British troops, launched military operations in Afghanistan. The operation began on October 7, 2001, with the stated aim of fighting the Al-Qaeda network.
Following the fall of the government at the time, a new political process took shape in Afghanistan. After the Bonn Agreement was reached on December 5 of that year, Hamid Karzai was selected to head Afghanistan’s interim administration.
The US and NATO military presence in Afghanistan continued for nearly two decades. During this period, the number of US troops increased or decreased depending on the conditions of the war.
In 2011, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and then-US President Barack Obama ordered the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.
Barack Obama said at the time: “The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda.”
In 2014, the combat mission of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan ended, and primary responsibility for the war was handed over to the security forces of the then-Afghan government. However, in the years that followed, attacks by the Islamic Emirate intensified, and fighting continued in various parts of the country.
After Donald Trump took office, Zalmay Khalilzad was appointed US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation. Negotiations between the United States and the Taliban eventually led to the signing of the Doha Agreement in 2020.
Under the agreement, the United States committed to withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan, with May 2021 set as the deadline for the complete withdrawal of US troops.
The withdrawal of foreign forces subsequently accelerated. In 2021, provinces came under the control of the Islamic Emirate one after another. Finally, after former President Ashraf Ghani left the country on August 15, Islamic Emirate forces entered Kabul and took control of the Presidential Palace after nearly 20 years.