THE POST-NATO AFGHANISTAN: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

Since the 11 September 2001 attack on the U.S and subsequent wars Afghanistan has become at the forefront of the global agenda. The U.S involvement in Afghanistan is mainly to defeat al Qaeda and dismantle the Taliban regime that harbored al Qaeda. After nearly twelve years of war the U.S although appears to be successful in weakening Al Qaeda but not able to destroy the group. Now the U.S and its allies are planning to pull out of Afghanistan. Following the plan to withdraw all NATO combatant troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 there is a growing concern for the weak U.S established Karzai government in particular and Afghanistan at large. This paper inquiries into what the war achieved, how the NATO forces will pull out of Afghanistan and what awaits Afghanistan after the NATO withdrawal.