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  • Joe Biden won electoral college and poplar vote took office 2021

    • immediately faced the question what to do with troops in Afghanistan

  • Agreement between US and IEA (which US insisted calling the Taliban) set withdrawal date March 2021

    • When Biden became president - 100 days away

  • Ghani pleaded to keep troops in Afghanistan and breaking the deal

  • Biden decided to agree extend only for a matter of months (not years or indefinitely). Reminded public no longer had problems (terrorists, etc) then so no need to keep troops there.

  • Withdrawal began May 1 and conclude by September 2021, US troops would be home before 9/11 marked 20th anniversary

  • Ghani put on brave face and said gov would be able to handle it

  • The day US troop withdrawal started IEA already controlled 20% of Afghanistan

  • As spring to summer, IEA advancing big cities started collapsing

  • by July 10th IEA control over half of administrative districts

fluctuates, but there were 34 provinces in 2021. And on August 6th, the IEA took control of the first of these provinces.

  • Got control of Nimuruz and other provinces went the same way. IEA about to reach Kabul in the middle of August.

    • Racing to get troops out of Afghanistan as IEA was closing (flew troops to airports to help)

  • August 16th Kabul fall to IEA.

  • IEA defeated Afghan gov (which was puppet to them), still upheld agreement. Did not attack airport.

  • While IEA wanted it to be smooth other militants took opportunity to attack American troops.

  • ISISK, ISKP got near entrance airport and they denoted explosive blast which killed 13 US memebrs and over 173 Afghans. US tried to retaliate with drone strike (thought were trasking ISKP but in reality was an afghan who worked for Cali based agency), killed him and 7 others from his family

    • names/ages from CIVIC (civilians in conflict…)

  • Afghan army got buckled very quickly (which was unexpectedly).

  • A large amount of Afghan civilians died too

  • Last US plane departed August 30th 2021, finally war ended.

  • Cost was huge - over 2 trillion or 300 million a day for 2 decades

  • Loss of lives -
    Estimated Deaths in Afghanistan War 2001-2021

    Americans: 6,217 (2,324 uniformed

    servicemembers, six Defense Department civilian

    employees, and 3,917 private contractors

    Allied troops: 1,144 (of which, 455 were from the

    United Kingdom)

    Afghans: 168,307 casualties (69,095 US-allied

    military and police, 46,319 civilians’ and 52,893 anti-

    government fighters).

  • Biden posed the price and lives sacrificed, what would we get and couldn’t we get objective another way?

    • yes (like in 1990s)

  • Al-zwahiri who was living in Pakistan took place in Kabul

    • not sure if violation of US deal, he doesn’t seem to be plotting

    • not a good look regardless

  • Biden assassinated Al-zwahiri with a drone (no boots on ground)

  • ISKP suffered blow as well, but came from IEA.

    • turns out best gov is native (huh who would’ve thought)

  • IEA was gungho on ridding Afghanistan of violence (it dropped)

    • managed to kill alleged planner of massacre