Post 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq

Following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, United States President George W. Bush declared a ‘War on Terror’. Australia invoked the ANZUS Treaty to support the US, and was among the first nations to pledge support for a US-led multi-national force.

The Taliban, a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist movement, controlled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, committing systematic massacres against civilians and issuing edicts forbidding women to work outside the home, to attend school, or to leave the home unless accompanied by a male relative.

In October 2001, US and allied forces invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban regime after it refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the founder of pan-Islamic terrorist organisation al-Qaeda, which was responsible for the 11 September attacks.

The US-led coalition remained in Afghanistan, forming a UN-sanctioned International Security Assistance Force that aimed to create a democratic authority to prevent the Taliban from returning to power.

Australia’s military commitment began on 11 October 2001 with Operation Slipper. All three squadrons of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment were deployed to Afghanistan, participating in operations in the mountainous regions south of Kabul, and conducting reconnaissance and surveillance.

Two RAAF Boeing 707 air-to-air refuelling aircraft from No. 33 Squadron and associated support personnel operated from Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. RAAF C-130 Hercules transport aircraft were involved in providing logistic support for deployed forces.

The initial ADF commitment in Afghanistan concluded in December 2002 when the Special Air Service Task Group was withdrawn. 

The war paused inconclusively in mid-2002, as the United States directed its attention to Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, leading to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Iraq War (2003–11).

Taliban leadership relocated to southern Afghanistan and across the border to Pakistan. By 2003 it had reorganised, waging an insurgency against the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Afghan national security forces, as well as coalition troops. By 2007, the Taliban had retaken large parts of Afghanistan.

An Australian army training team provided security detachments in Baghdad for Australian diplomats at national headquarters, and began to train Iraqi soldiers from July 2003.

From September 2005, Australian efforts were focused on securing and stabilising Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan. Australia’s Special Operation Forces maintained pressure on insurgent and terrorist networks, identifying and targeting leaders and key individuals, supporting anti-narcotic operations, and helping to develop the Afghan National Security Forces.

Between 2006 and 2008 Australia committed a Reconstruction Task Force to help construct schools, medical facilities, bridges and patrol bases in Uruzgan, while training Afghan youths in carpentry and other trades. From late 2008 Australia’s military focus shifted to mentoring Afghan forces through the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force, and from 2010, through the Mentoring Task Force.

NATO leaders began planning an exit strategy from Afghanistan after a US covert operation in Pakistan led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

Combat operations in Afghanistan formally ended on 28 December 2014, and security responsibility was transferred to the Afghan government. From 2015 to 2021, the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces took primary responsibility for fighting the Taliban.

In May 2016, an inquiry was launched into allegations that Australian Special Forces personnel committed war crimes in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, eventually concluding that incidents should to be referred for criminal investigation. Chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, apologised for “any wrongdoing by Australian soldiers” and announced that the 2nd Squadron of the Special Air Service Regiment would be disbanded.

Despite a small increase in US troops in 2017, with continuing combat missions and a shift in military strategy, the war largely remained a stalemate for almost six years. In February 2020, the US government and the Taliban signed an ultimately unsuccessful peace deal, leading to a withdrawal of US troops.

Australian Defence Force personnel remained until 2021. With the withdrawal of coalition troops, the Taliban launched a broad offensive, re-establishing control over Afghanistan, and taking the capital city of Kabul on 15 August. On that day, the president of the Islamic Republic, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country, the Taliban declared victory and the war formally ended.

Those remaining under Taliban rule have seen the loss of rights and freedoms: girls are barred from secondary schools; women are required to cover their faces in public and are banned from travelling without a male relative as companion; music has been banned; flogging, amputations, and mass executions have been reintroduced.

Increasing internal instability, a mass exodus of refugees, and a growing humanitarian crisis have been further exacerbated by climate change, the effects of the Russia–Ukraine war, and international isolation.

We understand this may be a difficult time for veterans who served on Middle East operations. 

If you or someone you know requires support, please contact:

Open Arms: Veterans and Families Counselling (24 Hours) 1800 011 046

Lifeline Australia 13 11 14

Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

Resources for further reading

Operation Highroad: https://www.defence.gov.au/operations/highroad

First in: How Seven CIA Officers Opened the War on Terror in Afghanistan / Gary C. Schroen (2005)

The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan / Bing West (2011)

An Unwinnable War: Australia in Afghanistan / Karen Middleton (2011)

The Good War: Why We Couldn’t Win the War or the Peace in Afghanistan / Jack Fairweather (2014)

No Front Line: Australia's Special Forces at War in Afghanistan / Chris Masters (2017)

The Afghanistan Wars / William Maley (3rd edition, 2020)

The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War / Craig Whitlock (2021)

The American War in Afghanistan: A History / Carter Malkasian (2021)

The Ledger: accounting for failure in Afghanistan / David Kilcullen & Greg Mills (2021)

Not a good day to die: The untold story of Operation Anaconda / Sean Naylor (2006)

18 Hours: The true story of an SAS war hero / Sandra Lee (2007)

War / Sebastian Junger (2010)

[See also: Restrepo / Directed by Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger (2010); and Korengal / Directed by Sebastian Junger (2014)]

Find, Fix, Finish / Ben McKelvey (2022)