February 29, 2020 – Donald Trump’s administration signed an agreement with the Taliban that set the terms for a US withdrawal from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021. At this point, the US still had about 13,000 troops in the country.
March 1, 2020 – Then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani objected to a provision in the deal that would require his country to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners. “The liberation of Taliban prisoners is not the authority of America, it is the authority of the Afghan government,” Ghani said at the time.
March 4, 2020 – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Taliban had promised not to attack US and coalition forces.
March 10, 2020 – Ghani, under pressure from the US government, ordered the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners at a rate of 100 a day.
May 19, 2020 – A Pentagon Inspector General’s (IG) report on activities in Afghanistan from January 1 to March 31 notes that the US has reduced troop levels there by more than 4,000 despite “the Taliban’s continued violence escalated further after the signing of the agreement”.
August 18, 2020 – A follow-up report for the next quarter found that the Taliban “appear to have failed in their commitment to distance themselves from terrorist organizations in Afghanistan.”
September 3, 2020 – Afghanistan has released the last 400 Taliban prisoners under the US-Taliban deal to allow intra-Afghan peace talks to begin.
September 12, 2020 — Afghan officials and Taliban officials met in Qatar for peace talks after months of delay. The agreement between the US and the Taliban provided for the start of the first peace talks on March 10.
September 18, 2020 – Trump said at a news conference: “We deal very well with the Taliban. They’re very tough, they’re very smart, they’re very perceptive. But you know, it’s been 19 years, and even they’re tired of fighting.”
November 16, 2020 – Republicans in Congress warned that a withdrawal could lead to a “Saigon-type situation” in Afghanistan.
November 17, 2020 – Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller announced that the US will reduce forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by January 15, 2021. The same day, the Pentagon’s IG reported that negotiations between the Taliban and Afghanistan had stalled amid escalating violence.
January 15, 2021 – Miller announced that “US forces in Afghanistan have reached 2,500,” the lowest level since 2001.
January 20, 2021 – Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States
February 3, 2021 – The Congressional Afghanistan Study Group, established in December 2019 to ensure a peaceful transition in Afghanistan, has released a report recommending changes to the deal with the Taliban.
February 19, 2021 – At the Munich Security Conference, Biden reiterated his campaign promise to bring US troops home from Afghanistan.
March 7, 2021 – Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Ghani he was “concerned the security situation will deteriorate and the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains.”
March 25, 2021 — US Special Operations Command commander Gen. Richard Clarke told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “It is clear that the Taliban have not maintained what they promised to reduce violence.”
On the same day, during a White House news briefing, Biden said it was “difficult” to meet the May 1, 2021 exit deadline
April 14, 2021 – Biden announced a new deadline for withdrawal and vowed that all US troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. He said he “inherited a diplomatic deal” that “is not what I would have negotiated myself.”
“We will not rush to the exit,” Biden promised in his speech. “We will do it responsibly, consciously and safely.”
April 15, 2021 – In response to Biden’s decision to delay the full withdrawal, the Taliban released a statement saying the failure to delay the withdrawal by April 1 [the Taliban] to take all necessary countermeasures, therefore the American side will be held responsible for all future consequences.’
April 18, 2021 – Trump released a statement criticizing Biden’s September 11 exit deadline, saying “we can and should exit sooner.”
May 18, 2021 – Defense IG released a report for the first three months of 2021, claiming the Taliban had stepped up their attacks on Afghan forces and appeared to be preparing with al-Qaeda for “large-scale offensives.”
May 18, 2021 – In a House hearing on US policy in Afghanistan, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad downplayed the prospect of a quick Taliban takeover after US forces withdrew.
June 8, 2021 – Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says after foreign troops left Afghanistan, the group’s goal is to create an “Islamic government.”
June 26, 2021 – At his first rally since leaving office, Trump boasted that Biden could not stop the process of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and acknowledged that the Afghan government would not stand once US troops left were deducted.
July 6, 2021 – The US military confirms it has withdrawn from Bagram Airport, its largest airfield in Afghanistan.
July 8, 2021 – Biden said “speed is safety” and pushed back the timeline for the full troop withdrawal to August 31, 2021. He blamed Trump for finalizing the deal and assured Americans that a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan would ” not inevitable”. He added: “The likelihood of the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely,” and vowed to expedite special visas for Afghan nationals who helped the US during the war.
July 24, 2021 — At a rally in Phoenix, Trump said that when he was president, he told the Taliban leader in a phone call that after U.S. troops left, “if you decide to do something terrible to our country…we… will come back and We will hit you harder than any country has ever been hit.’
August 6, 2021 – The Taliban took control of their first province, Nimroz, despite an agreement they signed with the US not to do so.
August 15, 2021 – Taliban fighters enter the Afghan capital Kabul. Afghan President Ghani fled the country and the US evacuated diplomats from its embassy by helicopter.
August 16, 2021 — In an address to the nation, Biden said, “I do not regret my decision to end America’s warfare in Afghanistan,” deflecting blame for the government’s rapid collapse.”
On the same day, after the collapse of the government, thousands rushed to Kabul Airport to flee Afghanistan.
August 26, 2021 – Nearly 200 people died in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport, including 13 US soldiers.
August 29, 2021 – A US drone strike has killed 10 civilians. Officials said the target was an Islamic State operative with a car full of explosives linked to ISIS-K, but the man was a longtime development worker for the US and seven of the victims were children.
August 30, 2021 – The US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan as the last US military C-17 carried the last troops out of the country. Thousands of Afghan allies have been left behind and a new report showed at least 800 Americans have been escorted home since the disengagement ended.
Over the past few days, US forces have evacuated more than 122,000 people from Afghanistan. Originally it was reported that only 100-200 Americans were left behind.