Afghanistan Peace CampaignHowever, the attack took on a different dimension on the ground in Afghanistan and turned into a prolonged war.
Twenty-five years ago, on 7th October, 2001, then-U.S. President George W. Bush ordered the launch of an attack on Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
At the time, Bush said the operation was being carried out in response to the September 11 attacks, with the aim of combating the al-Qaeda network and eliminating terrorist threats.
“On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al-Qaeda terrorist training camps and the military infrastructure of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. These carefully targeted actions are designed to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a terrorist base of operations and to strike at the military capability of the Taliban regime.”, Said Bush on the day.
However, the attack took on a different dimension on the ground in Afghanistan and turned into a prolonged war.
As a result of the attack, the then-Taliban movement’s government in Afghanistan was overthrown, thousands of Afghan civilians were killed and wounded, and many families were displaced from their homes.
In addition, millions of Afghans faced the security, economic and social consequences of the war.
The Islamic Emirate, which is once again in power in Afghanistan 25 years after that day, has described October 7 as one of the bitter days in the country’s history and said it resulted in thousands of Afghans being killed and wounded.
After 20 years of war, the last U.S. troops and their allies left Afghanistan on August 30, 2021. With the end of the U.S. military presence, a new chapter began in Afghanistan’s political history.
The 20-year U.S. presence in Afghanistan began with the overthrow of the then-government of the Afghan Taliban movement and ended with the Islamic Emirate’s return to power.