How the Taliban seized Afghanistan again - BBC News
Summary
TLDRThe rapid collapse of Afghanistan's government and the swift takeover by the Taliban in 2021 took the U.S. and the world by surprise. After 20 years of war, a U.S.-led coalition deal and withdrawal left a power vacuum. Despite President Biden's assertion that Afghan forces could hold their own, the Taliban swiftly seized control, leading to a chaotic evacuation at Kabul airport. The international community now faces the challenge of engaging with the Taliban, who have a history of human rights abuses, as the West's influence wanes and the future of Afghanistan's democracy remains uncertain.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ The Taliban has taken control of Afghanistan after the country's president fled, leaving Western countries in a scramble to evacuate their citizens and personnel.
- 🕊️ The U.S.-led coalition removed the Taliban from power in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks, but the group never fully disappeared and continued to fight for years.
- 📜 In 2020, a deal was struck between the Taliban and the Trump administration, with the U.S. committing to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
- 🔄 President Biden reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to this withdrawal, aiming to end America's longest war and bring troops home.
- 🚨 Despite assurances of a strong Afghan military, the Taliban's rapid advance raised questions about the real strength and capabilities of Afghan forces.
- 🗺️ The Taliban made significant territorial gains in July and August 2021, capturing key provincial capitals and eventually the capital, Kabul, with little resistance.
- 👥 The international community, including the UN, expressed concern over the Taliban's rule, particularly regarding the rights and safety of women and girls.
- 🇺🇸 President Biden maintained his stance on the withdrawal, placing responsibility on the Afghan government to unite and manage the situation internally.
- 🛫 Amid the chaos, the focus shifted to the Kabul airport, where thousands attempted to flee, leading to desperate scenes of people trying to board planes and helicopters.
- 📣 The Taliban sought to reassure the international community of their intentions to maintain security and not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base for terrorism.
- 🌍 The U.S. and other Western powers now find themselves with limited influence in Afghanistan, as the Taliban looks to engage with regional powers such as China, Russia, and Iran.
Q & A
Who is currently in control of Afghanistan as described in the script?
-The Taliban is currently in control of Afghanistan.
What significant event occurred in Afghanistan in 2001 that led to the U.S. led coalition removing the Taliban from power?
-The 9/11 attacks led to the U.S. led coalition removing the Taliban from power in 2001 as al-Qaeda had been allowed to use Afghanistan as a base.
What was the outcome of the direct talks between the Taliban and the Trump administration in 2020?
-The outcome of the talks was a deal where the Taliban agreed not to attack U.S. troops, and the U.S. committed to leave Afghanistan.
What was President Biden's stance on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan as of July 2021?
-President Biden recommitted to the withdrawal, stating that it was time to end America's longest war and bring the troops home.
What was the situation at Bagram Air Base on July 5th, and why was it significant?
-On July 5th, the Americans left Bagram Air Base without telling the base's Afghan commander, marking a significant moment in the withdrawal process.
How did President Biden assess the risks of the withdrawal on July 8th, and what did he believe about the strength of Afghan troops?
-President Biden believed that a Taliban takeover was not inevitable, citing the strength of the Afghan troops, which he claimed were 300,000 strong and well-equipped.
What pattern emerged as the Taliban took control of provincial capitals in Afghanistan?
-The pattern that emerged was that the Taliban took control of provincial capitals mostly without resistance, and these cities often fell without a fight.
What was the international community's concern regarding the Taliban's rapid progress in August 2021?
-The international community was concerned about the Taliban's human rights violations, particularly against women, and the potential for a catastrophic situation in Afghanistan.
What was the U.S. intelligence assessment regarding the fall of Kabul to the Taliban as reported by The Washington Post on August 10th?
-The U.S. intelligence assessment believed that Kabul could fall to the Taliban within 90 days.
What significant event occurred on August 15th, 2021, that indicated the imminent fall of the Afghan government?
-On August 15th, the Taliban entered Kabul with almost no resistance, and it was revealed that President Ghani had fled the country.
What was the situation at the Kabul airport on August 16th, and how did it reflect the desperation of the Afghan people?
-On August 16th, there were harrowing scenes at the Kabul airport with thousands of Afghans desperately trying to get onto planes or U.S. helicopters to escape the country.
What was the U.S. stance on the Taliban's control of Afghanistan and the protection of women's rights as expressed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken?
-The U.S. called on those in power in Afghanistan to guarantee the protection of women and girls and their rights, stating that they would monitor how any future government ensures these rights and freedoms.
Outlines
🏛️ Fall of Afghanistan and the Taliban Takeover
The script details the swift takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, following the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces. It discusses the surprise collapse of the Afghan army, the hasty evacuation efforts by Western countries, and the background of the 20-year war that led to this point. The narrative includes the 2001 U.S.-led coalition's intervention post-9/11, the subsequent years of fighting, the 2020 peace deal with the Trump administration, and President Biden's reaffirmation of the withdrawal. The script also highlights the rapid territorial gains by the Taliban in July and August 2021, the fall of key cities without resistance, and the pleas for international intervention due to human rights violations. It concludes with the Taliban's entry into Kabul, President Ashraf Ghani's departure, and the chaos at the Kabul airport amidst the evacuation.
📉 U.S. Intelligence Misjudgment and the Rapid Unfolding of Events
This section of the script focuses on the underestimation by U.S. intelligence of the Taliban's momentum, with initial assessments suggesting a 90-day window before Kabul could fall. It captures the denial of inevitability by both the U.S. and Afghan leadership, the surrender of Kunduz, and the fear that spread as the Taliban approached Kabul. The narrative describes the lack of a political settlement, the U.S.'s assessment that Kabul was not in imminent danger, and the subsequent rapid fall of the city on August 15, 2021. It also includes President Ghani's address to the nation, the U.S.'s response to the crisis, and the Taliban's assurances of peace and security, which were met with skepticism by the international community.
🛫 Desperate Evacuation and International Responses
The final paragraph of the script describes the frantic efforts to evacuate civilians and diplomats from Kabul as the Taliban took control. It details the scenes of chaos at the airport, with people desperately trying to board planes and the use of U.S. helicopters for evacuation. The script moves on to President Biden's speech, where he defended his decision to withdraw U.S. forces and acknowledged the difficult lessons learned from the 20-year conflict. The Taliban's first press conference post-takeover is also mentioned, along with their promises to the international community. The narrative concludes with the U.S.'s focus on the non-combatant evacuation operation and the diminishing influence of Western powers in Afghanistan, as the country now looks towards regional powers like China, Russia, and Iran for future relations.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Taliban
💡Afghanistan
💡U.S.-led coalition
💡Withdrawal
💡President Ashraf Ghani
💡Bagram Air Base
💡Evacuation
💡Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
💡Human rights violations
💡Political settlement
💡Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO)
Highlights
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan, with the country's president fleeing and Western countries scrambling to evacuate personnel.
The rapid collapse of the Afghan army within 11 days came as a surprise to the US and others.
Afghanistan, with a population of 48 million, shares borders with Iran and Pakistan and was ruled by the Taliban until 2001 when a US-led coalition ousted them following the 9/11 attacks.
The Taliban continued to fight even after being ousted from power, leading to years of conflict and significant loss of life.
In 2020, a deal was struck between the Taliban and the Trump administration, with the US committing to withdraw its troops.
President Joe Biden reaffirmed the US commitment to withdraw from Afghanistan, calling it time to end America's longest war.
Concerns were raised about the real strength of the Afghan military due to corruption and desertion.
The Taliban intensified its operations in July 2021, taking territory it had not controlled for 20 years.
The Taliban's capture of its first provincial capital without a fight indicated a pattern that would continue.
Afghanistan called on the UN to act to prevent a catastrophic situation and reported gross human rights violations by the Taliban.
The UN expressed concerns about the Taliban's progress and the impact on women's rights.
President Biden maintained his position on the withdrawal, placing responsibility on the Afghan government to control the situation.
US intelligence suggested Kabul could fall to the Taliban within 90 days, but the actual fall happened much sooner.
The Taliban's rapid advance and the lack of a political settlement raised fears about the potential fall of Kabul.
On August 14, 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul with almost no resistance, and President Ghani fled the country.
The US and other Western countries focused on evacuating their citizens and Afghan allies from Afghanistan.
President Biden defended his decision to withdraw US forces, stating there was never a good time to do so.
The Taliban held a press conference, promising not to allow Afghanistan's soil to be used against anyone.
The international community, including the US, called for the protection of women and girls' rights in Afghanistan.
The US no longer considers Ashraf Ghani a figure in Afghanistan, and the Taliban is now in a position to form a government.
The US and its allies have limited influence in Afghanistan, with the Taliban likely to listen more to China, Russia, and Iran.
Transcripts
the taliban is in control of afghanistan
the country's president has fled and
western countries are scrambling to get
people out and this took the us by
surprise i did not nor did anyone else
see a collapse of an army that size in
11 days but that's what happened across
the next few minutes let's go through
how after 20 years of war this unfolded
so quickly
afghanistan's a country of 48 million it
shares lengthy borders with iran and
pakistan and in 2001 a u.s led coalition
removed the taliban from power following
the 9 11 attacks al qaeda had been
allowed to use the country as a base
with the taliban out of power an elected
government followed but the taliban
didn't go away years of fighting
followed tens of thousands of afghan
troops militants and civilians died as
did thousands from the u.s led coalition
and in 2020 after direct talks between
the taliban and the trump administration
a deal was done the taliban would not
attack u.s troops the u.s committed to
leave and in april the new president joe
biden recommitted to that withdrawal
i've concluded that it's time to end
america's longest war
it's time for american troops to come
home and while america's nato allies
expressed concern they concluded with
the americans going they had to too and
so the withdrawal gathered pace by july
a symbolic moment was reached this is
archive footage of bagram air base it
was a central facility to the us-led
operation in afghanistan and on july the
5th in the middle of the night the
americans left bagram for good without
telling the base's afghan commander
several days later the 8th of july
president biden was asked to assess the
risks he was taking with this withdrawal
is a taliban takeover of afghanistan now
inevitable no
it is not why
because you have the afghan troops have
300 000
well-equipped as well as quipped as any
army in the world and an air force
against something like 75 000 taliban
it is not inevitable
that 300 000 figure though is contested
because of corruption and desertion
there were questions about the real
strength of the afghan military
nonetheless in the following weeks of
july the u.s continued its withdrawal
and the taliban continued to intensify
its operations by the beginning of
august the taliban was taking territory
it hadn't occupied for 20 years this map
shows taliban controlled areas in red
contested territory in yellow and
regions under government control
in bloom
then on the 6th of august came another
strategic and symbolic moment the
taliban took its first provincial
capital surrounded as a city on the
southern border with iran in something
that would become a pattern it fell
without a fight and afghanistan made
this plea to the un the council must act
and prevent a catastrophic situation we
are alarmed by reports and incidences of
gross human rights violation by the
taliban and their foreign terrorist
associate in almost half of our country
that alarm will have grown between the
7th and 10th of august the taliban took
eight more provincial capitals mostly
without resistance by now a quarter of
afghanistan's biggest cities were in its
control and the bbc secunda camani was
in one of these new taliban strongholds
speaking to its fighters
how can you justify all this fighting
when it's causing the deaths of
thousands of or afghans thousands of
ordinary muslims
but while the taliban was insisting on
islamic rule in afghanistan the un was
speaking out against its progress women
are already being you know killed and
shot for breaching rules that have been
imposed on on their what they can wear
and on where they can move without a
male escort
it's time for the international
community to prioritize peace in
afghanistan president biden though was
not shifting his position on the
withdrawal and he placed responsibility
for controlling the situation in
afghanistan on its government i think
they're beginning to realize they've got
to come together politically at the top
and but we're going to continue to keep
our commitment but i do not regret my
decision
this was on the 10th of august also on
the 10th of august the washington post
published this story it showed us u.s
intelligence which believed kabul could
fall to the taliban within 90 days but
the next day white house spokesperson
jen saki resisted the idea that the
taliban's momentum was unstoppable
we are closely watching the
deteriorating security conditions in
parts of the country but no particular
outcome in our view is inevitable so
nothing is inevitable said jen saki no
regrets said joe biden and if that
intelligence assessment said all could
be lost in 90 days
it was to take far less than that
on the same day gensake was saying a
taliban victory was not inevitable the
afghan president was trying to show as
much he traveled to the besieged city of
missouri sharif and whatever boost he
was hoping for this was undercut by the
surrender of hundreds of afghan soldiers
in nearby condos because afghans knew
what kunduz meant the taliban could make
it to kunduz maybe they could make it to
kabul and that in itself is a big fear
the only good option would be if there's
some kind of a political settlement but
what form would that settlement take the
taliban's always refused to deal
directly with the afghan government even
while negotiating with the americans
would it really seek a political
settlement now with the americans going
and the afghan military giving ground
no was the answer there was no political
settlement and by the 13th of august
this was the u.s assessment kabul is not
right now
in an imminent threat environment
but clearly david
if you just look at what the taliban has
been doing
you can see that they are trying to
isolate kabul the threat to kabul was
certainly imminent by the next day the
14th of august the taliban took
afghanistan's second largest city
kandahar as my colleague igita lemai
reported
this is the center of kandahar city a
political and economic powerhouse
the taliban were born in this province
to show off their gains the group's
fighters filmed themselves walking
through the provincial governor's office
by this stage there was little doubt
that kabul and the government could fall
embassy started evacuating diplomats and
civilians the u.s began sending
thousands of u.s troops to help with the
evacuation and as it did taliban
fighters were reaching the outskirts of
the capital on saturday the 14th
president ghani addressed the nation
what afghanistan
our dear country afghanistan is in
serious danger of instability the
reintegration of the security and
defense forces is our priority
and we're taking serious measures to
deal with this whatever measures were
taken they weren't enough on sunday the
15th the taliban entered kabul and met
almost no resistance it emerged
president ghani had fled the country and
a taliban spokesperson called my
colleague hakeem while she was live on
bbc news you want to avoid bloodshed
onto destruction
to of properties of the people and
to not to give chance
to
plunder
looters
who are
waiting for such moments to loot or
plunder
the properties of the people nine days
after seizing its first provincial
capital the taliban had taken over and
there was perhaps no better illustration
of its remarkable progress than these
pictures of taliban fighters sitting
behind president ghani's desk in the
presidential palace
by the morning of monday the 16th the
issue is not whether the taliban was in
control it was the immediate issue was
the airport as thousands of afghans
tried to get out extraordinary and
harrowing footage emerged of people
desperately trying to get onto planes of
u.s helicopters being used to clear
people from the runway
and the people chasing one u.s plane
down the runway while others clung to
the fuselage hours after this president
biden addressed americans and he refused
to accept mistakes had been made i stand
squarely behind my decision
after 20 years
i've learned the hard way
that there was never a good time to
withdraw
u.s forces that was monday the 16th on
tuesday the 17th the taliban gave a
press conference and made its case
it is very understandable the
international community is
expressing worries about the security
and about afghanistan
but i reassure all internationals the
u.n all embassies
to all our neighbors
that we will not be allowing
the soil of afghanistan
to be used against anybody those
reassurances rang hollow for many and
there was growing fury that the taliban
should even be in a position to offer
them on wednesday we heard some of that
fury as the house of commons was
recalled and now it was boris johnson's
turn to defend the withdrawal
the west could not continue
this u.s us-led mission
a mission conceived and executed
in support and defense of america
without american logistics without u.s
air power and without american might and
so whatever the rights and wrongs of the
withdrawal this is the point we'd reach
by wednesday the 18th the taliban was
now working to form a government some of
its most senior leaders had arrived in
the country this was the welcome party
for the taliban's political leader in
kandahar in kabul high-level meetings
were happening about the transfer of
power
also on wednesday the ousted president
ashraf ghani posted a video on facebook
for now i am in the united arab emirates
so that bloodshed and chaos is stopped
i'm currently in talks to return to
afghanistan but any hope mr ghani has of
returning to power looks slim minutes
after that statement the u.s said it no
longer considers mr ghani a figure in
afghanistan and rather than trying to
seize power away from the taliban the
americans at the moment are much more
concerned with the vast operation that's
underway
currently the united states military is
focused on the specific mission of
conducting a non-combatant evacuation
operation from afghanistan
this is likely to be
probably the second largest neo
conducted by the united states
and that operation very much focuses on
kabul airport there we continue to see
desperate scenes thousands of people
continue to try and get into the airport
and onto a flight but as the americans
acknowledge while they control the
airport they no longer control the
entire process
the taliban have informed us that they
are prepared to provide the safe passage
of civilians to the airport and we
intend to hold them to that commitment
and if the americans have limited
control over how people can get out now
there's a far longer term loss of
control to consider too
on wednesday evening in the us secretary
of state anthony blinken tweeted
together with our international partners
we call on those in positions of power
and authority across afghanistan to
guarantee the protection of women and
girls and their rights he goes on we
will monitor closely how any future
government ensures their rights and
freedoms
but as mr blinken well knows it's the
taliban which is in power now an
organization responsible for an array of
atrocities all the way back to the 90s
and having spent 20 years fighting the
us and its allies you imagine having its
human rights record monitored is of no
concern because whatever the western
leaders say or tweet the reality is
their influence is dwindling and the
democracy they helped create in
afghanistan is gone it will be to china
russia and iran that the taliban listens
not to the u.s or the uk or their nato
allies it's an uncomfortable outcome
after 20 years billions of dollars and
thousands of lives lost
関連動画をさらに表示
Taliban defend changes in Afghanistan in BBC interview | BBC News
Al-Qaeda, Taliban and the history of the Mujahideen
How Taliban Expanded in Afghanistan During America's Longest War | WSJ
Feature History - Soviet-Afghan War
War in Afghanistan since 1979 and its impact | challenges to Pakistan |Pakistan Affairs CSS|PMS
Afganisztán – Utazás háborúból a terrorba (teljes film)
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)