The Afghanistan War was an armed conflict between the United States and its allies and the Taliban regime of Afghanistan that lasted from 2001 to 2021. The conflict became part of a larger effort known as the Global War on Terror, which the administration of George W. Bush initiated to safeguard the nation from attacks by terrorists.
On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations, and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime.
--President George W. Bush, Statement on Afghanistan, October 7, 2001
The United States targeted Afghanistan in response to the terrorist strikes of September 11, 2001. Following the attacks, American intelligence quickly determined that the terrorists who carried out the plane hijackings had trained as part of the al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan. As a result, President Bush demanded that the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan surrender any authorities of al-Qaeda to the United States or face military consequences. The Taliban declined to comply, triggering armed conflict.
Under President Bush’s leadership, the United States formed a military coalition consisting of Great Britain, Canada, and other allied nations to enter Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban and dismantle al-Qaeda’s operations in the country. The Bush Administration initiated operations in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. Critically, the United States supported the Northern Alliance, a group of mujahideen rebels within Afghanistan who resisted the Taliban’s control. After a series of victories against the Taliban, on November 13, forces of the Northern Alliance claimed Kabul, the nation’s capital. The Taliban lost control of Kandahar, the most populous city in Afghanistan, on December 6.
In December 2001, Afghan resistance forces began a fierce battle in a series of caves near Tora Bora, thought to be the location of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The United States did not take part in the battle, which ended with bin Laden leaving Afghanistan for neighboring Pakistan.
With the collapse of the Taliban regime, President Bush strongly supported the development of a democratic government in Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai, a former resistance fighter, became head of a transitional government. In January 2004, delegates wrote a constitution for Afghanistan, and by the end of the year voters chose Karzai as their first democratically elected president.
On Monday, I will meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House to discuss freedom's remarkable progress in his nation. Afghanistan now has a constitution, an elected President, and its citizens will return to the polls this September to elect provincial councils in the lower house of the National Assembly. We’re helping Afghanistan’s elected government solidify these democratic gains and deliver real change. A nation that once knew only the terror of the Taliban is now seeing a rebirth of freedom, and we will help them succeed.
--President George W. Bush, Radio Address, May 21, 2005
The United States’ military commitment to Afghanistan evolved over time. By May 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared that combat operations in Afghanistan had all but concluded.
The emergence of a democratic government did not bring peace to Afghanistan. Coalition forces failed to fully dismantle the Taliban, which remained a violent obstacle to peace and democracy within that country and in neighboring Pakistan. By summer 2006, bombings and suicide attacks escalated in Afghanistan. In response, United States military forces repeatedly targeted Taliban fighters in Pakistan.
The United States ended combat operations in Afghanistan in 2014, turning the war into the longest continuous conflict in American history. The last United States military forces to depart the country did so on August 30, 2021. The Taliban quickly regained control of the country, undoing many of the political and social reforms that resulted from American intervention.
By 2021, 2,324 American military personnel, 3,917 military contractors, and 1,144 allied troops had lost their lives in Afghanistan. The war cost the United States $2.3 trillion. At least 46,000 Afghan civilians and 70,000 military and law enforcement personnel, as well as numerous enemy combatants, died in the conflict.
For a more complete guide of the archival records that are open for research, please download the Archival Research Guide:
Additional press releases, Presidential Messages and Statements, and more from 2001 - 2009 are available through the Archived White House Website.
