Afghanistan – 20 years, $2 trillion in ‘nation building’ yet it fell like a house of cards

Abstract

Yet again, we've seen the hashtag #prayfor(a country) emerge on social media – this time, it was #prayforafghanistan. It has dominated news stories all of last week – the fall of Afghanistan, and we have seen images of anguish emerge from Afghanistan. For those reading this and unsure why Afghanistan dominated the news, a quick Google search with the term “why did the USA invade Afghanistan” answers your question. In pursuit of revenge - some would argue safety - the United States of America, under the Bush administration, invaded Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 with hopes of getting the perpetrators of 9/11. However, it was not easy to leave after that, and later the narrative shifted to nation-building.