US intervention in Afghanistan

From 2001 to 2021, a coalition led by the United States invaded and attempted to occupy the Taliban-led state of Afghanistan. The proximate trigger for the invasion were the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and its stated goal was to apprehend Osama bin Laden for his role in the deaths of thousands of Americans. However, the George W. Bush administration had in fact already begun planning for an attack on Afghanistan by September 11. Although more than 40% of the coalition troops were from other countries, the United States provided a majority share of troops and instigated, led, directed, and benefited from the invasion and 20-year occupation of the country. The occupation ended in August 2021 when president Joe Biden carried out the terms of a ceasefire and withdrawal which had been negotiated under Donald Trump the previous year.

The imperialist dividends of a "democratic" US-aligned kleptocracy in Afghanistan were several. Control of Afghanistan would afford the United States and its allies a foothold in Asia on the borders of China and Iran. In addition, the CIA may have played a role in instigating, carrying out, benefiting from, or even prolonging the occupation, especially in order to open up new frontiers of its decades-long involvement in the drug trade. The US weapons industry, of course, also played a role in the prolonging of the . Many analysts, including some liberals and dissenting US military officers, have argued that elements of the American state deliberately avoided a decisive victory in order to prolong arms sales and other benefits. This analysis is typically identified with the label "the forever war".