KABUL: Twenty five years ago, on October 7, 2001, then U.S. President George W. Bush ordered military strikes on Afghanistan, marking the start of a long and costly war that would reshape the country’s future.
Speaking that day, Bush said the operation was a direct response to the September 11 attacks and aimed to dismantle al Qaeda and remove the Taliban regime that had sheltered the group. “On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al-Qaeda terrorist training camps and the military infrastructure of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan,” he said. “These carefully targeted actions are designed to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a terrorist base of operations and to strike at the military capability of the Taliban regime.”
What began as a focused campaign soon widened into a two-decade conflict. The Taliban government was toppled, but the war brought heavy civilian casualties, widespread displacement, and lasting damage to Afghanistan’s economy and social fabric. Thousands of Afghans were killed or wounded, and millions more lived under the shadow of violence and instability.
Now, a quarter century later, the Taliban referring to themselves as the Islamic Emirate have returned to power. Marking the anniversary, the group described October 7 as one of the “bitter days” in Afghanistan’s history, citing the thousands of lives lost and the deep scars left by the war.
After 20 years of fighting, the last U.S. and allied troops withdrew on August 30, 2021, ending America’s longest war. The pullout closed one chapter but opened another, as the Islamic Emirate regained control of the country it had once been driven from.
The U.S. presence began with the overthrow of the Taliban and ended with their return, leaving behind a complex legacy of destruction, unfulfilled promises, and a nation still struggling to rebuild. For many Afghans, the date remains a painful reminder of a war that changed everything and yet, in many ways, brought them back to where they started.
