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A decade in Afghanistan

Oct 7th 2011, 7:18 by The Economist online

ON OCTOBER 7th 2001 the first American bombs fell on Afghanistan. With the help of an international coalition, America hoped to quickly rout the terrorists who had perpetrated the 9/11 attacks, and to overthrow the government that harboured them. But after three weeks of bombing we reported that there were two views of the war taking shape: one which continued to believe it would be swift and soon give way to the task of nation building; and another that foresaw a long, complex and messy campaign. The pessimists proved the more prescient. By one count, over 2,700 coalition soldiers have died as a result of the decade-old war, and many thousands more Afghans have lost their lives in the fighting. Today over 100,000 foreign troops remain in Afghanistan, which continues to be plagued by insurgency and other violence. As Barack Obama begins to withdraw his troops from America's longest war, the country's future is far from clear.

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As America edged closer to war in September 2001, Afghanistan's local anti-Taliban forces also prepared for battle. (AFP)

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George Bush posed for photographers in the White House after announcing that America had begun a bombing campaign in Afghanistan on October 7th 2001. (AFP)
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"Although their new American allies may have doubts that [the Northern Alliance] will be ready or capable, they themselves are brimming with optimism," we wrote in October 2001, as America launched its offensive in Afghanistan. (AFP)
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Armed with outdated weapons, Afghan fighters used old Russian tanks to shell al-Qaeda positions in Tora Bora. (AFP)
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America's special forces were the first Western soldiers to arrive on the ground in Afghanistan. They scored some important successes, killing senior Taliban and al-Qaeda commanders. But they have also figured in some of the worst mishaps, in which large numbers of civilians have been killed in airstrikes. (AP)
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Hunting down Osama bin Laden and defeating the Taliban proved to be more complicated than expected, leading America to intensify its early bombing campaign. (AFP)
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With the help of American airstrikes, anti-Taliban forces made sweeping territorial gains, finally capturing the capital, Kabul, in November 2001. (REUTERS)
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As the coalition rounded up prisoners, the Taliban surrendered their last stronghold, Kandahar, in December 2001. (AFP)
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But Osama bin Laden and his top aide, Ayman al-Zawahri, remained at large. Flyers dropped by American warplanes promised "a $25m award for whoever has true news" of the two men. (AFP)
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As the fiercest fighting wound down in 2002, Afghanistan returned to a semblance of normality. Here an Afghan man passes the bilboard for a body-building centre in Kabul. Under Taliban rule, the representation of humans was outlawed. (AFP)
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Much of Kabul was left in disrepair, damaged by years of fighting and then neglected. According to the government, 63,000 of the city's homes were destroyed and 60% of its streets damaged during two decades of war. (AFP)
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Despite the poor conditions, millions of Afghans have returned home from abroad. Here Afghan refugees build a mud house at a refugee camp in Kabul. (AFP)
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Foreign donors have promised billions of dollars in aid for the country. Here a young Afghan woman smiles after lifting her veil while waiting to receive food aid. (AFP)
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Most young Afghans born since 1980 have had no formal schooling, and girls were banned outright from attending classes after the Taliban regime seized power in 1994-1995. But an effort has been made to revive Afghanistan's educational system. (REUTERS)
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In mid-2002 Afghan delegates attended a loya jirga and selected Hamid Karzai as the country's leader. "The wrangling over the choice of head of state...had marred the meeting before it even started," we reported. (AFP)
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In 2004 Mr Karzai won Afghanistan's first direct election for president, but he has disappointed expectations. His administration has been defined by corruption and incompetence, and his tattered "re-election" victory in 2009 forced the country's benefactors into all manner of embarrassing contortions. (AFP)
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Despite a hopeful start on the path to democracy, the countryís four post-2001 elections have seen increasing fraud and falling participation. (AFP)
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The Taliban and other insurgents regrouped in 2003, forcing coalition forces to once again go on the offensive. At the same time, though, America began committing a much larger share of its resources to its war in Iraq. (AFP)
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The insurgents have made increasing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and guerilla tactics, which threaten soldiers, civilians and any attempt to restore normal life. Here soldiers gather next to a vehicle destroyed by an IED, as their wounded comrades are airlifted by a Medevac helicopter. (AFP)
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As the fighting continued, America's prison camp in Bagram came under scrutiny. It is alleged that prisoners were routinely mistreated at the facility. Seven American soldiers were eventually charged with crimes relating to the deaths of two Afghan prisoners in 2002. (AFP)
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A decade of fighting in Afghanistan has snowballed into a huge effort involving around 130,000 foreign troops from dozens of countries. (AFP)
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From July of this year, Afghan forces are meant to begin taking over responsibility for the security of some of the safer areas from the NATO-led international coalition. Over four years, they are supposed to ensure the security of the whole country. In this picture, Afghan National Army officers march during a graduation ceremony at a military training centre in Kabul. In August we noted a huge improvement in the force. (AFP)
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But there is still concern over whether the country's security forces will ever be up to the job of managing the more volatile areas of Afghanistan. Here two Afghan policemen, who asked to be photographed, pose in front of a canal before washing their hands and feet to pray in Marjah. (AFP)
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Afghanistan shares a porous border with Pakistan, allowing insurgents to move freely between the two countries—the Pakistani army has a complex relationship with the jihadists. While another neighbour, Iran, has been linked to the explosives used against American troops in Afghanistan. Here an Iranian soldier stands guard in the Mirjaveh point, where the borders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan meet. (AFP)
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An Afghan man stands in his doorway as American soldiers and Afghan national policemen arrive to search his home as part of an effort to disrupt Taliban safe havens along the Afghan-Pakistan border. (AFP)
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The government has also targeted the country's enormous poppy crop, which helps to fund the insurgency. But Afghanistan is again the world leader in the production of opium, which is derived from poppies and converted into heroin. Nearly nine-tenths of the worldís poppy cultivation takes place in Afghanistan. (Getty Images)
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With the election of Barack Obama came a renewed focus on Afghanistan. In late 2009 the president promised to send 30,000 more troops to the country, to join the 68,000 Americans and 39,000 other NATO forces who were already there. (AFP)
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Mr Obama also promised to start bringing the troops home this summer. Plenty of Americans, weary of war and anxious about their own plight, think that the death of Osama bin Laden should have marked an end to the mission. But the president risks running down American forces in Afghanistan too fast. (AFP)
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"I feel reinforced that the path we're on is the right one, but also that it's going to take a while," Robert Gates, the then-secretary of defence, told reporters in March 2010. (AFP)
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In September the Taliban attacked the most heavily protected part of Kabul, leaving 11 civilians and five police (along with the 11 insurgents) dead. The insurgents targeted the American embassy and NATO headquarters, sowing fear and confusion and raising fresh questions over the government's ability to secure the country. (AFP)
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Efforts have been made to negotiate with the Taliban, but they have thus far come to nought. Here three captured Taliban insurgents are presented to the media. (REUTERS)
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Afghanistan looks like a failure beside the dream of 2001, when NATO invaded. It will continue to be plagued by violence and insurgency, and civil war is a possibility. For some this is a reason to stay, for others it is a reason to leave. In this piece, our correspondent reflects on how the war has changed Afghanistan and its occupiers, and whether it was worth it. (AFP)

Readers' comments

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Nirvana-bound

So much better if the American armed forces were deployed in their own nation to address & improve its crumbling & decayed infrastructure & burgeoning homegrown crime, rather than meddeling in the internal affairs of sovereign nations overseas.

But unfortunately the armaments/war industry is one of the most lucrative sources, for some very powerful & influential cartels, vested interests & thier sycophantic lobby groups. So the heinous political games continue, unabated.

Chnzhoney

The U.S. tries to imposes its beliefs in Afghanistan, but people in Afghanistan don't want to see foreigners forcing the concept democracy on their homeland. It is prudent that Barack Obama has begun "to withdraw his troops from America's longest war". With NATO at its weakest now, bringing back troops is the smartest decision; NATO countries have their financial crisis to worry about. In fact, one state needs to secure stability in its respected territory before it can 'help' other countries/states.

Moreover, the Taliban are beating the NATO coalition. Countries are withdrawing from the organization, such as Australia, and leaving the U.S. with the burden. America needs to take lessons in history and learn from its mistakes just like the one in Vietnam. The U.S. invested some much money and deployed so many troops into Vietnam, and the troops returned defeated.

math-phys

Dear Sir
Even if hot war may be sadly necessary to curb terrorism, still there is the tragedy -if it happens-of terrorism events of the kind of the movie “the sum of all fears " .Smuggling fissile materials (acquired in Black markets by Third World Armed Forces) is a tragic reality .
For instance , There are some fearful rumors that Spheres of Po 84 and Be4 ("Triggers"), coming from some Advanced Nuclear country ,they have been smuggled from a Brazilian Navy Marine installation in Rio de Janeiro (Toneleros -Special Forces Headquarters ) .That fissile material-if that rumor is true - have been supposedly tracked until the famous "Triple Frontiers" (Brazil -Argentina and Paraguay).Well, the close relationship of the old PLA and Ex-President Mr. Lula is widely acknowledge in the past . And the Iran nuclear reactor has the potentiality of producing enriched Pu , has not ?.
That point on nuclear safety of fissile material in the Third World is a very important issue that must be addressed by the international community -UN Security Council and Assembly. Opening of all Nuclear installations-even military in the Third World to the Atomic Energy International Agency is mandatory for the safety of all nations, in my humble opinion .
.

sadoshah

The decay in Afghanistan is a total loss, so is in Iraq,and now in Libya and not so far away in Iran or perhaps in Syria too.It is totally shambles,lunacy and banktrupsy to say the least. What has the West gained? They have made more enemies,lost trust and faith in all neutral countries which forms the bulk of populations that will in future matters. This would go in history as a big mistake.

An Drew

Interesting. Like all the other images in the Economist that accompany a text, and unlike most other publications, they usually have an ironic and implicit connection to the words, almost poetic and artistic.

Nice job.

Nirvana-bound

How can any sane, humane & civilised person, ever attempt to justify a decade of one-sided, uncalled for war & forced occupation of Afghanistan, where hundreds of thousands of Afghani citizens were brutally killed, maimed or had their lives destroyed irrevocably, all in the unholy pretext of promoting democracy?

Sure baffles & alarms me endlessly, to witness, time & time again, how the human mind will fabricate & twist facts to suit & justify its selfish & self-serving agendas, without a second thought. Isn't that the domain of psycopaths & sociopaths??

Troubling & scary, to say the least..

whitesoul

Decades in international revolutions mean a lot in informatic sense. Therefore I personally congratulate the Economist for the gathering and pursuit of truth in professional and politic sense too. Reaching less bloodshed in struggles should be rewarded with by those seeking lasting peace in the region as well as in the world at large.

The hope in the divine as well as the God fear may avail bestowed on us not granted but earned peace, as nothing's worth most in loving sight of the Lord above than the harmony and peace of the nations. May the children be brought up with mothers and fathers living strong and healthy, and no family of man suffer the burn in the heart by untimely deaths of children. May we all be forgiven, redeemed and saved in both worlds. A :)

RM101

This was a war, if you can call it that, which in my opinion as a US tax payer, that never was meant to be, totally uncalled for so now, after all these years, the precious lives lost on both sides, all of our precious treasure (of what we all know we now have little left to spare) all thats been said and done, accomplished or not, well, could we all agree to disagree, one way or another, call it a day.

Ladies and Gentleman, shall we, the United States just simply get out of a country, in this case Afghanistan, where we most certainly don't belong, its not in our shared interests to pursue this endeavor any further, lets call it quits, pronto.

Lets concentrate on creating jobs at home and fixing our infrastructure and education, puting our own house in order, there's so much to do...

Enough said.

pureislam in reply to RM101

RM101 what your saying had aloot of truth. the war made us lose alot. i am an afghan myself and to be honest with you i actuly hate the american government because cause of them i have lost my home, family memembers and many friends. and im sure there are amrican and british and other nationality people who have lost fathers, mothers, sons, ucnles etc. millions of people have been hurt due to this pointless and meangless war being lead by power greedy people who care nothing for the human race. in one house raid 6 families where wiped out completly, not a single one left, at least the americans and forighn nationality soilders have to face such disasterous events. one life is lost in thier families. more over the state america has put afghanistan in is appouling. if they come out compleltly the country will be in another civil war and the whole gov will colapse. inocent blood will be shed. and america will be held responsible for it seeing as they are the ones to put the country in such a state. before the american intervention, the country wasnt developed and it was in a dectatorship under the thaliban gov, dispite all this it was a very safe plce to live. the crime rate of the country was very low. i will ask one thing of you before you be selfish and think bout yourself and your country people think about those people who are in such horrible conditions due to the government of your country, they have lost families, homes everything. i done mean to attack you but when people think only of themselves and thier own without thinking bout how thier own have effected others it really makes me mad. this is the problem of our world, its me, my, i and self never we, us

Mortweet

For Americans war has been generally difficult to understand and connect with. The invasion of Iraq really threw us off course and the Taliban resurgence after Iraq has Afghanistan in a difficult position today. When it comes down to it why should the Afghans trust what we say when they know we aren't going to keep our promises. There isn't an easy answer moving forward, but a troop withdraw and a peace agreement seem to be the best options.

amathey

Very moving pictures indeed. It reminds us of what has happened over the past decade especially since this war isn't in our backyard. It's easy to forget that our brothers and sisters are still fighting there everyday even though bin Laden has finally been killed. But just how long will it take Obama to strategically remove troops from Afghanistan if he doesn't want to do it too quickly?

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