The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TWO DECADES AT WAR: THE UNITED STATES IN AFGHANISTAN
SEPT. 11, 2001:
Terrorists from al-Qaida, which was granted sanctuary in Afghanistan by the Taliban, fly hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia. A fourth plane crashes in Pennsylvania.
SEPT. 18, 2001:
President George W. Bush signs a congressional resolution authorizing the use of force against those responsible for the attacks, a document that provides the foundation for years of military and intelligence operations.
OCT. 7, 2001:
U.S. forces begin bombing the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Special forces and CIA operatives also deploy to support the Northern Alliance, which sweeps toward the capital of Kabul and conquers the city a month later.
DECEMBER 2001:
Osama bin
Laden, the leader of al-Qaida, is believed to have escaped into Pakistan while U.S. forces and allies attack a cave complex in the Tora Bora mountains.
APRIL 17, 2002:
Bush announces a plan to help rebuild Afghanistan, and Congress approves $38 billion in spending. A transitional government led by Hamid Karzai is created in Kabul.
MAY 23, 2005:
Karzai visits Bush at the White House, and the two leaders sign an agreement strengthening ties. The U.S. pledges to train and equip Afghan security forces and to nurture the country’s economy and government, but a resurgent Taliban presents a growing threat.
FEB. 17, 2009:
Newly elected President Barack Obama announces that he’ll send 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan in hopes of stabilizing the country and beating back the Taliban.
DEC. 1, 2009:
Obama announces plans to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total to nearly 100,000.
MAY 2, 2011:
Osama bin Laden is killed by U.S. forces at a compound in Pakistan where he had been hiding.
JUNE 22, 2011:
Obama says he will begin withdrawing troops, although roughly 70,000 are expected to stay through 2014. Preliminary negotiations with the Taliban also begin.
JULY 6, 2016:
Despite a major drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Obama pumps the brakes on plans for a full withdrawal, ensuring that American involvement will continue after his term ends. “The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious,” he said.
AUG. 21, 2017:
President Donald Trump, who once called for removing troops from Afghanistan, says the military will continue operations there. He warns that a “hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists ... would instantly fill, just as happened before Sept. 11.” He later sends an additional 3,000, bringing U.S. forces up to about 14,000.