BRITAIN & AFGHANISTAN 2001-21 A TROUBLED HISTORY
September 2021 nominally marks the final withdrawal of American and NATO military personnel from Afghanistan. First deployed as part of a US-led coalition in 2001, the mission to find al-Qaeda leaders after 9/11 ended up toppling the Taliban regime. What followed was a 20-year conflict that saw determined attempts to rebuild the country but also bloody resistance from the Taliban and other opposition groups.
Britain’s armed forces provided extensive security in Afghanistan, particularly in Helmand Province from 2006. Its personnel paid a heavy price, with 454 being killed during 2001-14. The main British combat mission ended in 2014 but the war continued until the Taliban defeated the NATO-trained Afghan National Army and recaptured Kabul on 15 August 2021. During these two decades the Afghan people have suffered terrible casualties, with tens of thousands of civilians killed and hundreds of thousands more wounded or displaced.
Dr Peter Johnston, Head of Collections and Research at the Royal Air Force Museum, explains Britain’s long involvement in this complex and often misunderstood conflict that has caused enormous suffering and shaped the early history of the 21st century*.
*This interview was conducted in July 2021 before the capture of Kabul by the Taliban on 15 August.
“IT WAS ABOUT REMOVING THE TALIBAN FROM POWER AND PURSUING A ‘QUEST FOR JUSTICE’ AFTER 9/11, WHICH HAD SHOCKED THE WORLD”
Dr Peter Johnston is Head of Collections and Research at the Royal Air Force Museum. Before his current role he was Head of Collections Research and Academic Access at the National Army Museum
AN IMPERIAL PAST
How extensive is Britain’s military association with Afghanistan?
I’m always keen to stress that this is Britain’s ‘latest’
