Madison Kwiecinski 

News Editor 

mvk5945@psu.edu 

On August 15th, 2021 the Afghan government rapidly deteriorated as the country fell to the Taliban. The United States has put forth full effort into bringing home all the Americans who were in Afghanistan but then faced several challenges including chaotic and tragic scenes at the airports, due to refugees desperate to flee the country. The quick governmental collapse occurred two decades after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan to begin fighting the “war on terror.” 

The sheer speed of Afghanistan’s collapse, which took place last week, was a shock to many U.S. government officials. The chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General Mark A. Milley said that “nothing” he saw would have indicated a collapse of the Afghan army in only 11 days. U.S. intelligence analysts predicted the Afghan government’s collapse to take several weeks when in reality it occurred in only a few short days. 

The U.S. was set to have all troops withdrawn from Afghanistan by August 31, 2021. Before the withdrawal date, the Taliban began moving across Afghanistan taking over major cities and moving towards the capital. On August 22nd, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani abandoned the presidential palace to flee the country and avoid the Taliban fighters, as they took the capital. 

Over the last two decades, the U.S. has spent more than a trillion dollars in Afghanistan. The U.S. has provided training, modern equipment, and several other forms of resources to the Afghan army. In June of this year, the United Nations Security Council report stated that Afghan forces consisted of more than 308,000 personnel, while the Taliban is estimated to consist of 58,000 to 100,000 fighters. The Afghan fighters consisted of more than double the number of fighters as the Taliban but were no match for them. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has stated that the “lack of resistance that the Taliban faced from Afghan forces has been extremely disconcerting.” 

The U.S. agreement to leave Afghanistan has not been enough to subdue violence in the area. A terrorist attack occured at the Kabul airport, killing at least 12 American service members, and injuring another 18. President Biden condemned these attacks.

“To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes American harm, know this: We will not forgive,” Biden warned. “We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

The bombs were set off near the gates at the airport, where a crowd was gathered hoping to make one of the final evacuation flights out. 

The attack was one of the largest single-day American death tolls during the entire occupation of Afghanistan and is a national tragedy. Not long after the attacks, ISIS, the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the attacks. President Biden has stated the U.S. will respond to these attacks at, “a moment of our choosing,” a remark meant to mimic what Bush declared after the September 11th attacks two decades ago. 

On Monday, August 30th, General Frank McKenzie, the commander of the U.S. Central Command said, “I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals, and vulnerable Afghans.” 

Over 17 days, the largest airlift in U.S. history occurred in Afghanistan, with the rescue of over 120,000 U.S. citizens, allies, and military personnel. The U.S. has also evacuated thousands of refugee Afghan citizens. 

The war in Afghanistan has been the longest war in U.S. history, lasting five months longer than Vietnam. The Taliban was seen celebrating as the U.S. departed, but Biden has released a statement saying, “For now, I will report it was the unanimous recommendation of the Joint Chiefs and of all of our commanders on the ground to end our airlift mission as planned.” 

This historical two-decade-long war has finally ended. President Biden will address the nation this week, explaining the reasons for withdrawal and some of the difficult decisions that had to be made in the last month. There was no further loss of American lives during this major evacuation, and those lost at the Kabul airport will always be remembered.