WASHINGTON — Five years after the United States ended its longest war in Afghanistan amid chaos and defeat, questions remain about the country’s reluctance to withdraw from protracted military engagements. The Afghanistan conflict officially concluded with a harrowing evacuation from Kabul in August 2021, marked by the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in a suicide bombing and the rapid Taliban takeover. Despite fears that prompted successive presidents to maintain a presence in the country, Afghanistan has not reverted to a base for terrorist attacks against the United States.
Today, the U.S. military finds itself engaged in escalating tensions and a nascent conflict with Iran. Similar to Afghanistan, the prospects for a swift military victory appear limited. Even former President Donald Trump at times expressed a desire to end U.S. involvement but ultimately justified maintaining operations in the region to support allies, underscoring the challenges of extracting American forces from conflicts once engaged.
The long and arduous Afghanistan war underscored the difficulty of withdrawing from conflicts perceived as essential to U.S. national security or allied commitments. Experts note that much of America’s foreign military involvement since World War II has been about managing global order, often without clearly defined existential stakes. “We’re not fighting existential conflicts,” said Andrew R. Hoehn, a senior analyst at RAND Corporation.
Following the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, many officials viewed this as a critical moment to end the war. Yet, concerns about honoring sacrifices made by troops and obligations to Afghan partners, combined with the persistent resilience of the Taliban insurgency, extended U.S. involvement for another decade. Carter Malkasian, a former advisor to U.S. commanders in Afghanistan, acknowledged in a recent essay that if officials had better understood the situation then, they might have pushed more strongly for an earlier withdrawal.
Former commanders who served in Afghanistan’s final years recount frustration and a sense of being set up for failure. Gen. Austin S. Miller, the last commander in Afghanistan, described entering the role with tempered expectations, recognizing the difficulty of achieving a lasting victory amid shifting political directives.
The current conflict with Iran draws parallels to past prolonged wars. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has vowed that the Iran campaign will differ by being more focused and decisive. However, military leaders remain cautious about the limits of air power and the challenges of achieving quick results. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently conceded that U.S. strikes alone are unlikely to defeat Iran or fully reopen critical shipping lanes such as the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran sought to close in retaliation.
The administration’s approach now relies on a naval blockade and sustained economic sanctions to pressure Iran, with officials signaling readiness to maintain these efforts indefinitely despite strain on resources. The U.S. Navy’s ability to keep the strait open is acknowledged as feasible but potentially costly. Thomas G. Mahnken, a former senior Pentagon official, noted that Iran has heavily fortified its positions over decades, making any ground operations challenging.
Public opposition and the high anticipated costs in lives and resources appear to weigh heavily on decisions about escalating involvement. In a recent ceremony marking the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Secretary Hegseth honored service members wounded in the Kabul airport attack, framing the military’s extensive engagement in Afghanistan not as a defeat but as a testament to the valor and resilience of American troops. The event underscored a continuing effort within the Pentagon to balance recognition of sacrifice with the realities of complex military outcomes.