The US has changed its strategy in Afghanistan three times since 2001. In late 2001, the then US President George W. Bush decided to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan for providing safe havens to al-Qaeda whom Washington blamed for 11th September attacks in New York. At the time, many people believed the war in Afghanistan will end soon.

But later on in 2009, Bush’s successor Brack Obama after assuming office decided to lure thousands of additional US troops to Afghanistan. Again, the war did not end.

However, Obama’s successor Donald Trump has always stressed on an end to the Afghan war. Although, the Trump administration has reduced the numbers of US troops in Afghanistan, but his promise to withdraw all US troops from the country still remains incomplete.

In 2001, Bush administration attacked the Taliban. At least 60,000 American forces and 40,000 troops from NATO and other allied countries invaded Afghanistan and the Taliban was removed from power. Bush administration was preferring military strategy rather than political.

At the time of the attack, the Bush administration announced that the purpose of the US invasion of Afghanistan was to topple the Taliban regime and eliminate al Qaeda outfits in the country. But Bush during his presidency could not achieve his dream to see an end to the war in Afghanistan.

By 2009, the US strategy was focused on military solution of the conflict in Afghanistan. In December 2009, the Obama administration decided to bring another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan to end the war militarily, but the strategy did not work. The deployment of 30,000 addition troops increased the total number of foreign forces in Afghanistan to 140,000.

The Obama administration conducted an operation in Pakistan which led to the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden. The Obama administration believed that the killing of Bin Laden was one of the major military gains in the country by the US.

The Obama administration later reduced the number of US forces from Afghanistan to 20,000.

Obama over different occasions announced that the Afghan war was won by the US, but with the increased Taliban activities, Obama during his last days of presidency said that the war a war of Afghans.

But, Trump’s perspective on the war in Afghanistan was totally different. He announced many times that the Afghan war was meaningless and waste of American taxpayers’ money and waste of Americans’ lives. So Trump pledged to withdraw all American forces from Afghanistan.

But later in a speech to American forces near Washington changed his tone and said he will not repeat the mistake of hasty drawdown in Afghanistan like Iraq.

However, the Trump administration has reduced the number of American troops in Afghanistan to 8,500. But it seems that his promise to withdraw US forces completely from Afghanistan will not be completed at least during his first term in office.

Pentagon has already said that after the November elections, up to 4,000 US troops will remain in Afghanistan.

Analysts said the US still has not achieved its objectives in Afghanistan.

“The United States has not achieved its fundamental objective so far. Activities of terrorist groups in the region remain strong,” said Wais Ahmad Barmak, former minister of interior.

“The UN Security Council gave the mandate to the US to eliminate extremism in Afghanistan and crush terrorist groups in the country, but the US objectives have not been achieved,” said Asadullah Walwalji, a political analyst in Kabul.

“Even now, if we say that they will withdraw their troops and will no longer remain in Afghanistan, I think this will be a bit unrealistic. The US will keep its presence here,” said Sayed Ishaq Gailani, head of the National Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan.