Why has the War Dragged on for so Long in Afghanistan?

Why has the War Dragged on for so Long in Afghanistan?

Introduction

The Afghanistan War is considered the longest war of United States till present. Afghanistan, expose to instability and war since the late 1970s, turned out to be the first arena of the “war on terror” following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States (Maley, 2009). Operation Enduring Freedom also known as the OEF was started on to remove the Taliban from power and taking al Qaeda leaders in to custody. The Taliban government was replaced by Hamid Karzai, who is the president of Afghanistan till today. The ISAF was set up in Kabul as a mission of peacekeeping in December 2001, and then lengthened around the country in the coming years after the NATO assumed its command and control (Maley, 2009). Provincial Reconstruction Teams were the vehicles by means of which NATO wanted to implement its peacekeeping operations. Though, the resurgence of the Taliban, who at first seemed like an exhausted force, forced NATO to follow a counterinsurgency plan.

Discussion

The Context

Al Qaeda, one of the biggest terrorist networks in the world, was found guilty for the attacks on the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. The administration of George W. Bush then decided to wipe out the safe havens of al Qaida in Afghanistan; arrest its leader, Osama bin Laden, “dead or alive;” and chastise the Taliban rule for hosting the organization within its boundaries OEF, initially termed Operation Infinite Justice, was initiated in 7th October, 2001, with cruise missile and aerial bombardments attacks on Taliban positions (Cordesman, 2002).

United States attempts to Destroy Taliban 

Later than the deletion of the Taliban, the Northern Alliance got back to power in Kabul and also in western, central, and northern Afghanistan. The eastern and southern parts ...