IRMO Brief 10/2021, "America’s “Forever War” and the End of the Washington-led Unipolar World"

Introduction

‍America’s retreat from Afghanistan culminated in the country falling back into control of the Taliban, the very group that provided safehaven for al-Qaeda prior to the September 11,
2001 attacks. America suffered immeasurable pain and costs from this jihadist attack on US soil, made possible by intelligence failures, which did not recognize the emerging Islamist threat towards America. Al-Qaeda’s September 11 tactical victory begat a series of foreign policy blunders in Afghanistan as strategies evolved for the “Global War on Terror.” Twenty years later, Washington still has not learned from pre-9/11 mistakes. Prior to America’s complete withdrawal from Afghanistan, US intelligence was unable to convince the White House of the Afghan government’s fragility and the Taliban’s intentions.

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