22 Years on, remembering US-led coalition attack on Afghanistan

KABUL (TOLO News): 22 years ago, an international coalition led by Washington on October 7, 2001, attacked Afghanistan.

America stated that the aim of the attack was to fight and overthrow the organizers of the 9/11 attacks on their country.

On September 11, 2001, nearly a month before the United States invasion of Afghanistan, the Al Qaeda network crashed hijacked passenger planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, killing around 3,000 people and bringing the United States into Afghanistan.

“America’s aggression against Afghanistan was against all international law, they waged an unjust war on the Afghan nation and a long war was inconclusive,” said Najibullah Jame, a political analyst.

“Their ultimate goal was to be able to contain global regional competitors in the region, particularly Russia and China, to a great extent,” said Jawid Momand, a political analyst.

“The United States invaded Afghanistan without any justified reason, without listening to the people of Afghanistan and the government, and unfortunately the invasion lasted for 20 years,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.

Some political analysts said that the US presence in Afghanistan was one of the mistakes that the former Soviet Union had made and that the two countries caused significant losses to the Afghan people for political gain.

“NATO and Russia both made the same mistake and it was not a mistake but a persecution for the people of Afghanistan who during 45 years of negative competition have done so,” said Said Qaribullah Sadat, political analyst.

Finally, the 20-year presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan ended on August 31, 2021, with the withdrawal of the last US soldier in Afghanistan.

The battle cost the US $2 trillion, and 2,460 US troops were killed and more than 21,000 others were wounded.