The history of the 21st century will be defined by revolutionary geopolitical events, cartographic changes, economic and technological breakthroughs, and shifts in the concepts of sovereignty and territorial integrity. The US-led global war on terror, which began with the ousting of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the termination of its sovereign status, marked the start of these transformations.

The Bush administration overthrew the Taliban regime and replaced it with the interim government, strongly influenced and controlled by the US. However, after 21 years of bloody counter-insurgency operations, espionage and covert operations, the US failed and struck a deal with the terrorist regime of the Taliban. Within hours after the US forces left, the Afghan government was toppled, and the Taliban returned with all its might.

Looking back in hindsight, the Afghan war marked the beginning of the US decline. The start of the US decline essentially forms the basis of today’s most popular geopolitical discourse, i.e., multi-polarisation of the world order, as the Munich Security Conference puts it.

This article explores the root causes of the US failure in Afghanistan.

After the US invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban were uprooted, and an interim government headed by Hamid Karzai was established. This government included powerful chieftains and warlords from the Tajik, Pashtun, and Hazara communities. Tajik ministers such as Fahim Khan, Engineer Arif, Abdullah Abdullah, and Amrullah Saleh were largely drawn from Ahmad Shah Massoud’s Northern Alliance.

Despite US military and financial support, the Taliban began reviving from 2002 onwards. Their resurgence became starkly evident after 2005, when they started raiding military posts and convoys belonging to ISAF forces, UN agencies, and the US military. After 2005, the Taliban adopted the tactics of Iraqi jihadists and launched an aggressive campaign of suicide bombings targeting military outposts and convoys.

Initially, they deliberately confined themselves to controlling the rural areas of Helmand and the Kandahar region to avoid American pressure. However, from 2010 onwards, they also began attacking urban areas. Eventually, the situation reached a point where the Americans entered negotiations with the Taliban, granting them diplomatic recognition. They conceded to most of the Taliban’s unreasonable demands,........

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