Reactions to the fall of Kabul (2021)

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On 15 August 2021, the city of Kabul, the capital of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, was captured by Taliban forces during the 2021 Taliban offensive, concluding the War in Afghanistan that began in 2001. The fall of Kabul provoked a range of reactions across the globe, including debates on whether to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, on the humanitarian situation in the country, on the outcome of the War, and the role of military interventionism in world affairs.

Contents

Reactions within Afghanistan

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai pressed publicly for a peaceful transition of power, promising he would remain in Kabul with his daughters. [1] At around 11:00 Afghan Time, President Ashraf Ghani released a statement saying that he had fled in an attempt to avoid a bloody battle and that "the Taliban have won with the judgement of their swords and guns". [2]

Afghan author Khaled Hosseini shared his concerns over the future of women's rights in Afghanistan, [3] and expressed his hope that the Taliban would not return to the "violence and cruelty" of the 1990s. [4] On 19 August, journalist Ali M. Latifi argued that "once again, the Afghan people have awoken to an Independence Day dripping with irony, contradictions, and unease". [5]

Ahmad Sarmast, director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, stated that the previous Taliban regime had turned Afghanistan into "a silent nation" and he feared the Taliban shutting the Institute down, which would make Afghanistan "a society without music, it would be a dead society". [6] Sahraa Karimi, film director and chairperson of the Afghan Film Organization, publicly shared her account of escaping Kabul in a video that went viral: "I went to the bank to get some money, they closed and evacuated. I still cannot believe this happened... They are coming to kill us". [7] After missing a flight to Ukraine on which the Slovak film academy had secured a place for her due to the crowds, she was later able to board a flight. After arriving in safety, she began organising attempts to secure an escape for other filmmakers in Afghanistan, warning that the Taliban could perpetuate "genocide of filmmakers and artists". [8]

Khalida Popal, former Afghanistan women's national football team captain, stated that "it's traumatising for my generation to see history repeating itself". [9] Samiullah Shinwari of the Afghanistan national cricket team stated that 15 August was "the day Afghans lost their country and the whole world just watched". Several members of the national cricket team also spoke out against the Taliban and posted pictures of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan flag on Afghan Independence Day. [10]

The fall of Kabul sparked a number of protests in Afghanistan, organised especially by Islamic democrats and feminists. [11] It also saw the formation of the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front of Afghanistan and the beginning of the Panjshir conflict. [12] National Resistance Front of Afghanistan leader Ahmad Massoud warned of civil war, arguing that "we confronted the Soviet Union, and we will be able to confront the Taliban". [13]

On 9 August 2021, #SanctionPakistan became one of the top Twitter trends in Afghanistan and worldwide, with Afghans holding Pakistan responsible for its support of the Taliban. [14] [15]

On the other hand, the fall of Kabul and the republic was welcomed in some regions such as Helmand Province, which had experienced large scale bombardments and suffering during the war. [16]

International governments

Africa

Americas

US President Joe Biden discussing the fall of Kabul with the National Security Council, 18 August 2021 President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are briefed by their national security team.jpg
US President Joe Biden discussing the fall of Kabul with the National Security Council, 18 August 2021

Asia

Europe

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson blamed the United States for the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan. Johnson signed Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.jpg
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson blamed the United States for the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan.
Italian soldiers escort Afghan evacuees in Kabul during the 2021 Kabul airlifts, 24 August 2021 Evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport 210824-M-AU949-0191.jpg
Italian soldiers escort Afghan evacuees in Kabul during the 2021 Kabul airlifts, 24 August 2021
Ukrainian HUR MO special operations personnel during the airlift GUR MO in Kabul airport.jpg
Ukrainian HUR MO special operations personnel during the airlift

Oceania

International organisations

The World Food Programme stated that as many as 14 million Afghans could face a food crisis after the Taliban victory, as Afghanistan was suffering a severe drought simultaneously to the political turmoil and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan. [113] UNESCO released a statement calling for "the preservation of Afghanistan's cultural heritage in its diversity" and for measures to be taken to "protect cultural heritage from damage and looting". [114] Unicef representative (Sam Mort) was cautiously hopeful that the organisation's relatively new arrangement with the Taliban to develop girls education could be retained. [115]

The European Union's Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, expressed concerns of a possible migratory crisis. [31] High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell argued that the fall showed that Europe needed military capacity independent of the US and called for the creation of "a 50,000-strong expeditionary force" under EU command. [116]

The World Health Organization said that it was "extremely concerned over the unfolding safety and humanitarian needs in the country, including risk of disease outbreaks and rise in COVID-19 transmission". [117]

The World Bank followed the International Monetary Fund in suspending financial aid to the country, along with US banking system freezing any holdings, this may mean assets of at least $9bn and potential reserves due of $440million are now frozen. [118]

Reactions from the international public

International protests

Protest in Rotterdam against the Taliban's takeover, 21 August 2021 Pro-Islamic Republic of Afghanistan rally, Rotterdam (21 August 2021) 21.jpg
Protest in Rotterdam against the Taliban's takeover, 21 August 2021

Solidarity protests calling for NATO governments to do more to solve the humanitarian crisis and to oppose the Taliban were held in several countries, including the United States, Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, and France. [119] [120] Small protests were held in several Canadian cities in the week after the fall, including Mississauga, Montréal, and Calgary. [121] [122] [123] A solidarity protest was also held by Afghans stuck in the Kara Tepe refugee camp on Lesbos, Greece. [124]

On 23 August, a demonstration was held in front of the Althing in Iceland calling for the Icelandic government to take in more refugees. [125]

On 24 August, Afghan refugees living in Jakarta staged protests against the Taliban takeover of Kabul and called on the UNHCR to help them get settled in other countries. [126]

Human rights concerns

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, who had survived a Pakistani Taliban assassination attempt in Pakistan in 2012, stated that she was in "complete shock" and was "deeply worried about women, minorities and human rights advocates". [127]

Human Rights Watch stated that "standing beside Afghan women in their struggle, and finding tools to pressure the Taliban and the political will to do so, is the least—the very least—the international community could do". [128]

Amnesty International stated that the situation was "a tragedy that should have been foreseen and averted" and called for governments to "take every necessary measure to ensure the safe passage out of Afghanistan for all those at risk of being targeted by the Taliban". [129]

Médecins Sans Frontières stated that it was "concerned about access to healthcare for everyone" and that "our teams are staying put, providing essential medical care to people across the country". [130]

Reporters Without Borders stated that the Taliban pledge not to target journalists with reprisals "clearly suffers from a lack of credibility because the Taliban have an appalling record in this regard" and that "around 100 media outlets have stopped operating since the Taliban's rapid advance began". [131]

In the 2021 fall of Kabul after the withdrawal of American troops, and the fear to women and girls, caused by the Taliban takeover of government, CARE International's deputy country director, Marianne O'Grady said CARE were continuing their work, and was reported as saying that "you cannot uneducate millions of people" and that if women did go "back behind walls" they would educate their "neighbours, cousins and own children" despite Taliban rule. [132] Sam Mort said Unicef work was also continuing in the country. [115]

Some commentators, however, warned against the spike in concern about human rights and women's rights in particular following the fall being used as justification for further military interventionism. [133] [134] [135]

The United Nations Human Rights Council held a special session to address human rights abuses in Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover. However, the final resolution, drafted by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), was criticized for being watered down. The resolution only asked for an update from the UN human rights commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, with no mention of the Taliban. The OIC-led draft was criticized for failing to establish a fact-finding mission or a stronger mandate for monitoring. The European Union questioned the resolution's effectiveness. [136]

Outcome of the War in Afghanistan

Many commentators argued that the fall of Kabul meant that NATO had lost the War in Afghanistan. [137] [138] [139]

Former Canadian Chief of the Land Staff Andrew Leslie stated that "where we are now is failure. There's no doubt about it." [140] Mikhail Gorbachev, the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union who had overseen the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988, argued that "NATO and the United States should have admitted failure earlier" and that the NATO campaign in Afghanistan was "a failed enterprise from the start" which was founded on "the exaggeration of a threat and poorly defined geopolitical ideas". [141]

Some public figures, however, defended the War in Afghanistan. Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard argued that "we’ve got to remember since we went into Afghanistan there is no evidence that a major terrorist attack has been orchestrated out of Afghanistan". [142] Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair argued that the decision to withdraw was done "in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars.'" [143] [144] Former American President George W. Bush released a statement saying that American soldiers "took out a brutal enemy and denied Al Qaeda a safe haven while building schools, sending supplies, and providing medical care". [145] [146] Michael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution and former American marine Amy McGrath wrote in USA Today that the War "made a major and positive difference for US security" and that it "clearly demonstrated America's will and readiness to fight in defense of its values and its security". [147]

The Guardian reported a mood of "disappointment and despair" among UK soldiers and veterans over the collapse. [148] American veterans of the War also expressed similar sentiments, with the American Department of Defense announcing that it would be offering mental health services to those veterans. [149] [150]

Karen J. Greenberg of Fordham University School of Law wrote in The Nation that, despite the fall of Kabul, the War on Terror was not over, that "those forever wars have created a new form of forever law, forever policy, forever power". [151] Other comment reflects back to the 1998 US attack on Sudan (after al-Qaeda attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania), and UK's 2011 intervention in Libya, and current 'failure of the West' to impose regime change in Afghanistan is "the reality of a war that, in the end, from Sudan to Iraq to Afghanistan, was about high-profile revenge enacted on low-profile soft targets. It was not about ending terror, or freeing women, but demonstrating Infinite Reach [as was the name of the 1998 USA offensive]." [152]

Kabul Airport evacuations

US Marines with SP-MAGTF-CR-CC during the Kabul Airport evacuations, 20 August 2021 August 20 2021 Evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport.jpg
US Marines with SP-MAGTF-CR-CC during the Kabul Airport evacuations, 20 August 2021

The organisation of the evacuation from Kabul Airport was criticised by many. [153] Admiral Chris Barrie, retired Chief of the Defence Force of Australia, criticised the organisation of the evacuations, stating that "we’ve just left it far too late" and predicting reprisals from the Taliban. [154] Former deputy NATO senior civilian representative in Afghanistan Mark Jacobson stated that NATO governments "clearly didn't think that there might be 100,000 people that needed to get out". [155] Former Canadian general Rick Hillier, who commanded the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in 2004, called for NATO forces to go outside of the airport to find and escort vulnerable people to evacuations, arguing that "it will be impossible for the vast majority of them to get to Kabul airport and get on a plane". [156]

Not Left Behind, a Canadian group advocating to help Afghans who had worked with Canadian forces to resettle in Canada, stated that "I think that all Western countries that played a role in Afghanistan have a responsibility to step up and support the humanitarian impact of our actions in those countries". [157]

Role of NATO in world affairs

US soldiers assisting Afghan evacuees at a military terminal in Kabul Airport, 23 August 2021. The flags of NATO members, and the flag of Operation Resolute Support, can be seen. Evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport 210823-M-TT571-1050.jpg
US soldiers assisting Afghan evacuees at a military terminal in Kabul Airport, 23 August 2021. The flags of NATO members, and the flag of Operation Resolute Support, can be seen.

The collapse has provoked debates about the role of NATO militaries and Transatlantic relations in world affairs. [158] [159] Journalist Simon Jenkins argued that the responsibility to protect doctrine that arose after the end of the Cold War led to a decline in UN authority "and the UN gave way to the US as a self-declared policeman". [160]

Journalist Owen Jones wrote in The Guardian that "Britain has not had a foreign policy independent of the United States since the 1950s" and that "if historians of the future wish to understand the ignorance and hubris that accompanied the decline of the west's power, this week's emergency parliamentary debate on Afghanistan will provide an insightful case study". [161] The Guardian reported that senior UK civil servants were admitting in Whitehall meetings that they had little intelligence capacity in Afghanistan beyond that provided to them by the US. [162]

The collapse provoked increase debates on the foreign and defence policy of the European Union, including calls for the EU to develop its own military and increased independence from United States foreign policy. [163] [164] [165] [166] Max Bergmann of the Center for American Progress argued that Europe has to be "able to act when the U.S. is uninterested in doing so" and that transatlantic burden-sharing needed to be shifted away from American leadership into a more balanced partnership. [167] Bastian Giegerich of the International Institute for Strategic Studies argued that the collapse "shows crystal clear that Germany and other European powers don't have the means to pursue an independent strategy." [168]

American interventionism came under particular scrutiny. [169] [170] [171] Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in The Hill that "the stories that will resonate overseas are the stories of Afghans who once cast their lot with the United States and now find themselves cast aside". [172] Robert Manning of the Atlantic Council argued that "before the next US missionary adventure, we should consider the cost in global credibility of the terrible US foreign policy legacy of failed interventions" but that "betting against US resilience is not wise". [173] Torek Farhadi, former advisor to Hamid Karzai, argued that "nobody knows what the US was doing in Afghanistan for the past 10 years" and that "the US tolerated corruption in Afghanistan. The American public was too remote from this to really know what is going on." [174] Michael Klare of Hampshire College, however, wrote in The Nation that an American retreat from Central Asia might not disadvantage the US in global geopolitics, as "conducting low-intensity conflicts in the heart of Eurasia has never been a winning strategy for the United States; rather, it excels at high-tech coalition warfare in Europe and sea-based operations in the Pacific." [175]

Media in China compared the situation in Afghanistan to the United States' relations with Taiwan. It questioned the former's commitment to defend the latter if China decides to take control of Taiwan, which it claims to be its province, by force. [176] Security Council of Russia secretary Nikolai Patrushev compared the situation to Ukraine–United States relations, stating that "a similar situation awaits supporters of the American choice in Ukraine". [177]

Impact on international governments

In the UK, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faced calls to resign after it was revealed he had gone on holiday to Greece just prior to the fall and had refused attempts to contact him as developments occurred. [178] On 18 August, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that there would not be an official inquiry into the UK's role in the war. [179] On 21 August, The Guardian reported that the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament was likely to launch its own inquiry into UK intelligence assessments of the situation. [180] On 23 August, The Daily Telegraph reported that the British government was considering criminalising travel to Afghanistan to prevent UK citizens from joining terrorist groups. [181] The fall of Afghanistan also had a negative impact on United Kingdom–United States relations, with the British government briefing media against the American government. [182]

The United States government, led by President Joe Biden, also faced significant domestic criticism. [183] [184] [185] [186] Former American presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, each of whom had overseen significant developments in the War in Afghanistan, also faced fresh criticism for their perceived missteps in the war. [187] Opinion polls recorded a 7% drop in approval ratings for Biden's presidency in the week of the fall. [188] Some Republicans, including Senator Josh Hawley, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, and former Ambassador Nikki Haley, called on Biden to resign. [189]

The 2021 Canadian federal election campaign began on the same day as the fall. [190] The Canadian response to the crisis became a notable issue in the first few days of the campaign. [191] [192] On 18 August, Green Party of Canada leader Annamie Paul called for an emergency recall of Parliament to debate the crisis. [193] NDP leader Jagmeet Singh argued that the government should have focused on addressing the crisis, as well as other simultaneously occurring crises such as the 2021 Haiti earthquake, instead of calling an election. [194] [195]

Concerns were raised in Australia that the Office of the Special Investigator, set up to gather evidence on possible Australian war crimes in Afghanistan after the Brereton Report, might face increased difficulties in gathering evidence, especially without Taliban cooperation. [196]

Kazakhstan's president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called on military mobilization, citing public concern amidst Taliban takeover although assuring that events in Afghanistan do not pose a "direct threat" but instead create "certain risks". [197] He also announced that social benefits would be increased for military personnel as well as the salaries for the Internal Affairs employees. [198]

In the Netherlands, both Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigrid Kaag and Minister of Defence Ank Bijleveld resigned from their positions after the Dutch Parliament passed a motion of censure against them for their handling of the evacuations. [199]

Responses to potential migrant crisis

US airmen escorting evacuees at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, 17 August 2021 Afghanistan Evacuation 210818-F-EZ422-0091.jpg
US airmen escorting evacuees at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, 17 August 2021
Evacuated Afghan nationals at Ramstein Air Base, 20 August EUCOM Afghan Evacuation Operations.jpg
Evacuated Afghan nationals at Ramstein Air Base, 20 August

Various news sources including The New York Times , [200] CBS News, [201] the Financial Times [202] and Reuters [203] noted that European governments were less supportive of taking in refugees from Afghanistan than they had been of Syrian refugees in 2015. Florian Bieber of the University of Graz wrote on Politico that there has been "a shift since 2015 to the far right when it comes to issues of asylum and refugees" and that European politicians "have reduced the collapse of 20 years of international nation building and a devastating tragedy for women's rights and human rights down to just one question: how to get Afghan asylum seekers back to their country and keep new ones out." [204]

Greece put its border forces on alert to block any migration and installed a 40 km-long wall on its border with Turkey. [203] [205] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared that Turkey would not become "Europe's migrant storage unit". [206] French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France needed to "anticipate and protect itself from a wave of migrants". [207] The Australian government announced it would only be taking in 3000 refugees and that it would "not be offering a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship". [208] UK Home Secretary Priti Patel argued that the UK "cannot accommodate 20,000 all in one go". [209]

Macron and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson additionally proposed cooperation with Afghanistan's neighbours so that refugees would stay there. [200] The Eurasianet reported preparations that occurred in Kazakhstan, allegedly for Afghan arrivals, with desks being arranged in Shymkent school classrooms and college dorms for extra space to accommodate beds, although later were witnessed to be cleared away as the Kazakh government began denying any plans in accepting any migrants. [210] On 20 August, the government of Uzbekistan deported 150 refugees to Afghanistan. [211]

Despite anti-refugee sentiment expressed by politicians and governments, refugee charities in the UK saw a significant surge in donations following the fall of Kabul. [212] On 20 August, over 1000 prominent French women signed an open letter arguing that "faced with the absolute danger of rape, submission and death, for a country that claims to be a country of enlightenment and democracy, there is no other choice but to offer asylum without conditions". [213] [214]

Representatives from a number of British media outlets released an open letter calling for the British government to offer asylum to Afghan journalists. [215] French newspaper Le Monde published an editorial arguing that granting asylum to Afghans "isn't just a question of our humanity, it's our duty" and denouncing anti-refugee sentiment being stoked ahead of the 2022 French presidential election. [216]

Afghan refugees trapped in Calais reported despair, being caught between refusal of European governments to accept them, including being subjected to police harassment, and potential torture and death at the hands of the Taliban. Refugees also reported being unable to get into contact with relatives back in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. [217]

Opinion polls

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabul International Airport</span> International airport near Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul International Airport is located in the northern part of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is one of the country's main international airports, capable of housing over a hundred military and civilian aircraft. It is currently operated by UAE-based GAAC Holding and Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan refugees</span> Nationals of Afghanistan who left their country as a result of major wars or persecution

Afghan refugees are citizens of Afghanistan who were forced to flee from their country as a result the continuous wars that the country has suffered since the Afghan-Soviet war, the Afghan civil war, the Afghanistan war (2001–2021) or either political or religious persecution. The 1978 Saur Revolution, followed by the 1979 Soviet invasion, marked the first major wave of internal displacement and international migration to neighboring Iran and Pakistan; smaller numbers also went to India or to countries of the former Soviet Union. Between 1979 and 1992, more than 20% of Afghanistan's population fled the country as refugees. Following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, many returned to Afghanistan, however many Afghans were again forced to flee during the civil war in the 90s. Over 6 million Afghan refugees were residing in Iran and Pakistan by 2000. Most refugees returned to Afghanistan following the 2001 United States invasion and overthrow of the Taliban regime. Between 2002 and 2012, 5.7 million refugees returned to Afghanistan, increasing the country's population by 25%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between Afghanistan and the United States began in 1921 under the leaderships of King Amanullah Khan and President Warren G. Harding, respectively. The first contact between the two nations occurred further back in the 1830s when the first recorded person from the United States explored Afghanistan. The United States government foreign aid program provided about $500 million in aid for economic development; the aid ended before the 1978 Saur Revolution. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was a turning point in the Cold War, when the United States started to financially support the Afghan resistance. The country, under both the Carter and Reagan administrations committed $3 billion dollars in financial and diplomatic support and along with Pakistan also rendering critical support to the anti-Soviet Mujahideen forces. Beginning in 1980, the United States began admitting thousands of Afghan refugees for resettlement, and provided money and weapons to the Mujahideen through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The USSR withdrew its troops in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan–India relations</span> Bilateral relations

Afghanistan–India relations are the diplomatic relations between India and Afghanistan. They had been historical neighbors when India was under colonial rule and have since shared cultural ties through Bollywood and cricket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy of the United States, Kabul</span> Former U.S. diplomatic mission to Afghanistan

The Embassy of the United States of America in Kabul was the official diplomatic mission of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The embassy was housed in a chancery located on Great Massoud Road in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of the Afghan capital, Kabul, and was built at a cost of nearly $800 million. On August 15, 2021, in the face of a Taliban advance on Kabul, embassy staff relocated to makeshift but secure facilities at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Kabul fell and the chancery building officially closed late August 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan–Indonesia relations</span> Bilateral relations

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Indonesia established diplomatic relations on 20 May 1950. The relationship is mostly founded on common religious solidarity, as Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim majority country, and Afghanistan is also a Muslim-majority country. Indonesia has expressed its commitment to support and assist the rebuilding of Post-Taliban Afghanistan in various sectors, including technical training, infrastructure, women's empowerment, higher education, and diplomat training. Indonesia has an embassy in Kabul, while Afghanistan has an embassy in Jakarta. Both nations are full members of Non-Aligned Movement and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The year 2021 in Afghanistan was marked by a major offensive from the Taliban beginning in May and the Taliban capturing Kabul in August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan</span> End of the 2001–21 war; second beginning of Taliban rule

The United States Armed Forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, marking the end of the 2001–2021 war. In February 2020, the Trump administration and the Taliban signed the United States–Taliban deal in Doha, Qatar, which stipulated fighting restrictions for both the US and the Taliban, and in return for the Taliban's counter-terrorism commitments, provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan by 1 May 2021. Following the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks on the Taliban at the detriment of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) fighting the Taliban insurgency. The Biden administration's final decision in April 2021 was to begin the withdrawal on 1 May 2021, but the final pull-out of all US troops was delayed until September 2021, triggering the start of the collapse of the ANSF. This collapse led to the Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021.

The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Kabul was the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to Afghanistan. The British first established a diplomatic mission, a legation, in 1922 after the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919. The Viceroy of India George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston ordered that a large and opulent compound be constructed and this was completed in 1927. The legation was withdrawn in the Kabul Airlift as a result of the 1928-29 civil war but was re-established in 1930. The legation became an embassy in 1948 but this was withdrawn in 1989 following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. The embassy compound was handed over to Pakistan in 1994. Following the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan an embassy was re-established at a new site in the Wazir Akbar Khan District. The embassy, on the edge of Kabul's secure zone, was considered vulnerable to attack in 2018 and consideration was given to a new site, but did not proceed. Following the start of the 2021 withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan there has been speculation that the embassy might close.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Taliban offensive</span> Military offensive by the Taliban in Afghanistan

The 2021 Taliban offensive was a military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Kabul-based Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan that had begun following the United States invasion of the country. The Taliban victory had widespread domestic and international ramifications regarding human rights and proliferation of terrorism. The offensive included a continuation of the bottom-up succession of negotiated or paid surrenders to the Taliban from the village level upwards that started following the February 2020 US–Taliban deal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Allies Refuge</span> 2021 evacuation of Americans and eligible Afghans from Afghanistan

Operation Allies Refuge was an evacuation effort carried out by the United States during the 2021 Taliban offensive. It took place in the final weeks of the War in Afghanistan and saw the airlifting of certain at-risk Afghan civilians, employees of the American embassy in Kabul, and other prospective applicants for the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). American personnel also helped NATO and other regional allies in their respective evacuation efforts from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital city of Kabul. The operation was concurrent with the broader American military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the multinational evacuation of eligible foreigners and vulnerable Afghans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Pitting</span> 2021 evacuation of Britons and eligible Afghans from Afghanistan

Operation Pitting was a British military operation to evacuate British nationals and eligible Afghans from Afghanistan following the 2021 Taliban offensive. The operation consisted of more than 1,000 military personnel, including soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade. It ran concurrently with the evacuation efforts of numerous other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall of Kabul (2021)</span> Taliban capture of the capital of Afghanistan

On 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban after a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021. It was the final action of the War in Afghanistan, and marked a total victory for the Taliban. This led to the overthrowing of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under President Ashraf Ghani and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban.

Protests in Afghanistan against the Taliban started on 17 August 2021 following the Fall of Kabul to the Taliban. These protests are held by Islamic democrats and feminists. Both groups are against the treatment of women by the Taliban government, considering it as discriminatory and misogynistic. Supported by the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, the protesters also demand decentralization, multiculturalism, social justice, work, education, and food. There have been pro-Taliban counterprotests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan</span> International relations of Afghanistans Taliban government

The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since taking control by force in 2021, overthrowing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The takeover was widely criticized by the international community, and no countries have extended de jure diplomatic recognition to the new regime, despite nominally maintaining relations with Afghanistan. The Taliban has campaigned for international recognition since the takeover. Several countries have vowed never to recognize the Islamic Emirate, and others have said they will do so only if human rights in the country are respected. Some countries have accredited Taliban diplomats at the chargé d'affaires level despite not recognizing the Islamic Emirate. In September 2023, the People's Republic of China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to the country since the takeover, and in January 2024 recognized the Taliban's envoy to China; however, the PRC still does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The United Arab Emirates also accepted a Taliban appointed diplomat as Afghanistan's new ambassador in August 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Kabul airlift</span> Military evacuation following the Fall of Kabul

Large-scale evacuations of foreign citizens and some vulnerable Afghan citizens took place amid the withdrawal of US and NATO forces at the end of the 2001–2021 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban took control of Kabul and declared victory on 15 August 2021, and the NATO-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed. With the Taliban controlling the whole city except Hamid Karzai International Airport, hostilities ceased and the Taliban assisted in the evacuation effort by providing security and screening evacuees.

The war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban victorious when the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. The aftermath has been characterized by marked change in the social and political order of Afghanistan as Taliban took over the country once again after the fall of Kabul in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safi Rauf</span> Afghan-American humanitarian worker

Safiullah Rauf is an Afghan-American nonprofit worker and Navy reservist.

The 20-year-long War in Afghanistan had a number of significant impacts on Afghan society.

References

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