Afghanistan again under Taliban control in 20th anniversary of US invasion of country

Amin Alemi
Press TV, Kabul

October 7th 2001 was a day when a new chapter was opened in Afghanistan’s politics and of course in the lives of 25 million Afghans. The US and its allies attacked the country. They soon ousted the Taliban from power.

In the meantime, the financial cost of two decades of war in Afghanistan was also huge. As figures show, the US spent nearly eight trillion dollars for the so-called “war on terror”. Uprooting poppy cultivation and bringing political stability to Afghanistan were among the commitments of US officials.

This comes as the Taliban blame the US for destruction of Afghanistan, establishing corrupt governments and turning a blind eye to drug addiction crisis and the rest of miseries of Afghans.

According to the Costs of War Project, the US invasion of Afghanistan killed 176,000 people. America’s longest war also claimed the lives of some 2,500 American forces.

Now, with the Taliban takeover in mid-August, many here consider 20 years of US military presence in Afghanistan as fruitless since the war-torn country has lapsed back into the pre-2001 situation, where the Taliban were ruling over Afghanistan despite having no international recognition.

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