U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan ends ‘Forever War’
Due to recent orders for the United States Military to withdraw from Afghanistan, the war torn country has fallen under the control of the Taliban, an islamic terrorist group, in as little as two weeks, throwing the country into panic.
October 6, 2021
The war in Afghanistan was one that was undoubtedly tedious and seemed to be everlasting, earning it the nickname: “The Forever War.” Since September of 2001, when the United States was attacked by terrorist forces rooted in the Middle East, the United States has had a presence in Afghanistan in an attempt to suppress terrorist activity.
Over the past decade, presidential candidates have been campaigning the retreat of U.S. forces from the country, making it a country-wide goal to stop bloodshed of U.S. troops on soil overseas.
Current intelligence assessments calculate that Joe Biden’s withdrawal plan left more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones which are now in possession of the Taliban. There are no definite numbers yet but the sheer weight of Talibans new arsenal is a threat to the U.S. and its allies.
“We have already seen Taliban fighters armed with U.S.-made weapons they seized from the Afghan forces,” said Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives during an interview.
Between 2002 and 2017, the United States gave the Afghan military an estimated $28 billion in weaponry, including guns, rockets, night-vision goggles and even small drones for intelligence gathering. Weapons and technology that were once the United States’ greatest advantage over the Taliban has now fallen into the hands of the opposition itself.
Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan was taken under control by the Taliban this August, just two weeks after the United States withdrew. Millions of Afghanistan residents are worried that the country could descend into chaos or the Taliban could carry out revenge attacks against those who worked with the Americans or the government.
The airport of Kabul became a warzone in itself as thousands of Afghan rushed to departing flights in effort to flee the bleeding country. Some were so desperate that they clung onto the sides of military jets as they took off.
Amidst the chaos at the airport, the Taliban committed various suicide bombings, claiming the lives of dozens of innocent Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. service members, some not even as old as the two decade long war.
