Bookseller of Kabul

Timeline of the War in Afghanistan
(October 7, 2001–Present; 8 years, 314 days)

Condensed Timeline
1989 Soviet Troops withdraw
9/11/01 Attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon
10/7/01 Beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom
11/9/01 Battle for Mazar-i-Sharif, first substantial landing of US ground forces
11/12/01 Fall of Kabul (Osama bin Laden flees to Tora Bora?)
11/16/01 Substantial bombardment of Tora Bora by USAF
11/16/01 Fall of Kunduz and the Pakistani Airlift of Evil
late 11/01 Fall of Kandahar (Taliban stronghold), 1st USMC FOB (Camp Rhino)
12/12/01 Stiff resistance at Tora Bora, Osama bin Laden escapes Tora Bora to Pakistan?
12/5/01 Bonn Agreement forms interim Transitional Administration. Karzai named Chairman of 29-member governing committee
12/20/01 UN authorization of ISAF
3/2/02 Operation Anaconda from established airbases at Bagram (Kabul) and Kandahar. Coalition troops number 10,000. Offensive against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces entrenched in the mountains of Shahi-Kot
’03-’05 Renewed Taliban insurgency, recruitment of students from Pakistani madrassas
10/9/04 Hamid Karzai elected President (purple fingers)
’06 NATO forces (from ISAF) take over southern Afghanistan and achieve tactical victories but fail to defeat Taliban forces.
early ’07 Coalition offensive. People begin to realize that the number of Taliban forces is not a fixed number.
’08 British and US Troop Surge. US troop numbers climb to 48,250 in 6/08.
9/08 President Bush authorizes US raids against militants in Pakistan
1/09 More troops sent to southern Afghanistan by Bush and Obama. Gen. McKiernan calls for doubling US troop numbers. Ambassador Eikenberry deeply concerned about Karzai government
8/10/09 Gen. McChrystal says that the US is not winning the war.
8/20/09 Presidential Elections. Karzai reelected in a “generally fair, but not free” election.
12/1/09 President Obama announces 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
1/26/10 Karzai announces peace effort aimed at Taliban
7/25/10 Wikileaks disclosure – 90,000 secret documents reveal details of civilian casualties, and the extent of the collaboration between the Taliban and the Pakistani ISI