The American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, launched in response to the September 11 attacks that killed 2,977 people, triggered a long chain of consequences that the West still faces today. The article suggests that Vladimir Putin has reasons to thank Osama bin Laden, referring to the fact that the United States and its allies diverted attention and resources to the Middle East and Central Asia for decades.
The military intervention in Afghanistan paved the way for a prolonged 20-year war that ended with the chaotic American withdrawal in August 2021. This conflict became the longest in American military history, consuming vast financial and human resources without achieving a decisive victory.
The subsequent invasion of Iraq in 2003, decided by President George W. Bush under the claim of the existence of weapons of mass destruction, further aggravated the situation. This decision, subsequently considered a strategic blunder, completely destabilized the region and created the conditions for the emergence of extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which would later transform into the Islamic State.
The article estimates that the consequences of these interventions resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and a bill of several billion dollars for the West, without the initial goals of combating terrorism and promoting democracy in the region having been achieved in a sustained manner.
