Five years ago, the United States signed a peace agreement with the Taliban, paving the way for the withdrawal of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan. The deal, signed on February 29, 2020, in Doha, Qatar, required the Taliban to prevent militant groups—including Al Qaeda—from using Afghanistan’s soil to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
Despite the agreement, Afghanistan saw a rapid collapse of its Western-backed government. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban seized Kabul after a swift offensive, as Afghan security forces, trained and funded by the U.S., crumbled and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
In April 2021, President Joe Biden announced that U.S. troops would withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, marking the end of America’s longest war. “It’s time to end America’s longest war,” Biden said at the time. “It’s time for American troops to come home.”
As U.S. forces withdrew, chaos unfolded. Thousands of Afghans rushed to Kabul’s airport, desperate to flee. Some clung to the sides of departing U.S. military planes. The Taliban, after two decades of insurgency, reclaimed power with little resistance.
The final U.S. troops left on August 30, 2021, ending a 20-year military presence. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that the United States had “suspended our diplomatic presence in Kabul,” transferring operations to Doha, Qatar.
Since August 2021, Afghanistan has undergone sweeping changes under Taliban rule. The group has severely restricted women’s rights, barring them from education, most jobs, and public spaces. Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls are banned from secondary and university education.
Meanwhile, economic hardship has deepened. Afghanistan’s economy has plummeted, with soaring inflation, a devalued currency, and widespread hunger. International aid, once crucial to the Afghan government, was largely cut off after the Taliban takeover.
Ongoing security challenges
Despite the Taliban’s assurances in the Doha Agreement, militant violence persists. The Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K), a rival extremist group, has carried out deadly attacks across Afghanistan, including suicide bombings at mosques and government offices. The United Nations has also reported that Al Qaeda retains a presence in Afghanistan, raising concerns about the Taliban’s commitment to counterterrorism.
Pakistan, which once supported the Taliban, has grown increasingly frustrated with cross-border attacks by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group operating from Afghan soil. Pakistani officials have accused the Taliban of harboring extremists and destabilizing the region.
Looking back, and ahead
The Doha Agreement was seen by some as a step toward peace, but five years later, Afghanistan remains isolated and unstable. The Taliban, once insurgents, now struggle to govern. The Afghan people—particularly women and minorities—face an uncertain future under a government that has failed to gain international recognition.
For the United States, the war in Afghanistan is over, but its legacy remains deeply contested. The rapid Taliban takeover, the chaotic withdrawal, and the current state of Afghanistan continue to shape debates on U.S. foreign policy and America’s role in global conflicts.
Taliban’s view after five years
The Taliban’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in a televised statement that they no longer consider the 2020 Doha Agreement as guiding their governance, saying it was meant only for a transitional phase,
Speaking on state-run television, Mujahid accused the United States of failing to uphold parts of the agreement, which was signed in February 2020 by Abdul Ghani Baradar, a senior Taliban leader, and Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan’s peace. The deal facilitated the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and outlined steps toward a political transition.
Among its provisions were intra-Afghan negotiations and the formation of a new government that would include the Taliban, members of the former Afghan administration, and other political factions. However, since seizing full control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have excluded opposition groups from power.
