US Withdrawal from Afghanistan: Five Years Since the Chaotic Kabul Exit

Five years ago, the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan ended in chaos, with the Taliban seizing Kabul in a swift takeover as the Afghan National Army (ANA) dissolved. The final US military transport plane departed from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 30, 2021, marking the end of a 20-year occupation. The withdrawal has been widely described as chaotic, with the last soldier to leave being Chris Donahue. The US government, military, and think tanks rarely use the term 'defeat' to describe the end of the war, but the events in Kabul suggest otherwise. The lack of an exit strategy during the 20-year occupation is seen as a contributing factor, drawing parallels to the US departure from South Vietnam in April 1975. The Taliban have since regained control of the country, and the chaotic exit has had lasting implications for US foreign policy and the region.