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The Attacks on September 11th, 2001. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/6/timeline-how-september-11-2001-led-to-uss-longest-war
Most Americans should know of the attacks on September 11th, 2001. This event consisted of four planes becoming hijacked by members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, who later claimed responsibility for the attack. Two of the four planes crashed into each one of the twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. The third plane crashed into the West side of the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, as passengers onboard overtook the terrorists' control over it. -
"Enduring Freedom" was launched.
President George W Bush launched an operation called "Enduring Freedom", which would deploy around 1,000 American soldiers on Afghanistan soil. Due to this operation, the Taliban were overthrown within weeks. In 2,002 this number increased to 10,000 troops.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/6/timeline-how-september-11-2001-led-to-uss-longest-war -
The FBI and NSA security and surveillance advances in the U.S.
The FBI and NSA decide to apply the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act. This act tapped into federal, business, commercial, and residential cell phones to run surveillance on people who they found to be suspicious, and eventually create an algorithm to detect this. President George W. Bush had to sign this bill on the 26th of October, 2001.
https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/usa-patriot-act -
Osama Bin Laden assassinated by SEAL Team Six.
The leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden was assassinated by SEAL Team Six, a group of Navy Seals who fatally shot him during an operation in Pakistan, as he was hiding there. This happened on May 2nd, 2011, shortly after 1:00 AM PKT. The Operation was named Neptune Spear and was carried out by JSOC, or Joint Special Operations Command.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Osama_bin_Laden -
President Barack Obama announces the smaller withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama announced that he would begin withdrawing NATO soldiers from Afghanistan, as the American government and military begin to negotiate with the Taliban and the Afghan Government.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/6/timeline-how-september-11-2001-led-to-uss-longest-war -
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The time period of discussion of the withdrawal of NATO troops in Afghanistan.
During this time period, Former President Barack Obama discussed with many people and the general public his plan to negotiate with the Taliban, decrease the number of troops in Afghanistan, and end the long war. Up until July 6th, 2016 he was decreasing the number of troops. Donald J. Trump's presidency included the action of increasing the number of troops and firepower in Afghanistan. -
Obama starts to slow the withdrawal leading into the presidency of Donald J. Trump.
Obama has started to slow the withdrawal of NATO soldiers from Afghanistan, and he announced that 8,400 troops would be remaining in Afghanistan, as the Taliban is not fully eliminated, and they are simply trying to make peace. -
The Trump Administration describes the strategy to the war in Afghanistan.
In April of 2017, Former President Donald J. Trump stated "an increase in special operations forces to train, advise and assist Afghan forces; a more robust plan to go after elements in Pakistan that aid the Taliban; the deployment of more air power and artillery; and a political commitment to the survival of the current government in Kabul".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_United_States_troops_from_Afghanistan_(2020%E2%80%932021) -
Former President Donald J. Trump's announcements in 2017.
On the 21st of August, 2017, Donald J. Trump revealed more information on his strategy for dealing with the Taliban stating, "victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), crushing al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over the country, and stopping mass terror attacks against Americans before they emerge."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_United_States_troops_from_Afghanistan_(2020%E2%80%932021) -
Large amount of troops deployed into Afghanistan.
In September of 2017, over 3,000 extra U.S. troops were deployed in Afghanistan in major contrast to his decision to evacuate the troops in February of 2020. This brought the total amount of troops in Afghanistan from around 11,000 to 14,000. -
The Doha Agreement
The Doha Agreement is a peace agreement signed by the United States of America and the Taliban to completely end the Afghanistan war on Al-Qaeda. The agreement included the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan within 560 days. The Taliban's end of the deal was to prevent Al-Qaeda from inhabiting any area under the Taliban's control. The agreement was also supported by China, Russia, and Pakistan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doha_Agreement_(2020) -
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The Withdrawal of the U.S. military troops from Afghanistan.
Former President Donald J. Trump started the evacuation of the U.S. military troops in Afghanistan on February 29th of 2020. He decided it would be smart to end this long war completely. President Joe Biden decided to continue this process around a year later, on August 11th, 2021, announcing it even after he was told not to do so and to bring more troops to eliminate the Taliban.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_United_States_troops_from_Afghanistan_(2020%E2%80%932021) -
President Biden announces a complete withdrawal before September 11th, 2021.
On April 14th, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that all U.S. military troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11th, 2021, the 20th anniversary of 9/11/2001. On the 2nd of July, 2021, Germany and Italy had withdrawn their troops as well, following in their footsteps America completed the same by August 30th, 2021. Biden also defended this action by stating that the Afghanistan military is powerful enough to withstand the Taliban, which they weren't. -
Kabul Airport Suicide Bomb; The Final evacuation of U.S. NATO troops.
On August 26th, 2021, at 9:30 AM EDT, as one of the final airplanes to evacuate the NATO troops from Afghanistan was leaving, a member of the Taliban detonated a bomb strapped to his chest at the Abbey Gateway at the Kabul Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan. This killed 13 U.S. service members and injured 18. This also killed 98 other people and injured 150.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/world/asia/kabul-airport-bombing.html -
All troops are evacuated and withdrawn from Afghanistan, ending the war.
On August 30th, 2021, the remaining soldiers in Afghanistan were withdrawn, with the last one being General Chris Donahue, and a photo was taken of him boarding the C-17 plane in Kabul. The Secretary of State Antony Blinken states that withdrawing from Afghanistan was a "sacred duty". He also states that our military is the only military that can accomplish something like this.
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/afghanistan-kabul-taliban-us-news-08-30-21/index.html -
My personal prediction for the events.
What I feel is going to happen, is we are going to keep messing around in the middle east, and that this war hasn't ended and it won't. We may have stopped playing a role in it, and so have many other people, but as long as the Taliban are around and as long as they lie about what they are doing countless times the war will never truly end. On a grander scale, I have a feeling that China and Russia will continue to support each other, and the Taliban will support the two of them. -
U.S. Military Officials state that the recent withdrawal was a mistake and should have never happened.
Two of the United States of America's top military officials made statements against Donald J. Trump and Joseph Biden's decision to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan, and suggest that they should bring a smaller amount of troops back to push the Taliban back inside of the smaller control they had before. One of these generals included Mark Milley, one of the United States Army generals, and the 20th and current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 2019.