After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the new Taliban government to capture Osama bin Laden, although he was found in neighboring Pakistan. This invasion led to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the reestablishment of its diplomatic relations with the rest of the world. In 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama declared Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally; however, Joe Biden revoked its designation in 2022 after the Taliban took control of Kabul. American involvement in the War in Afghanistan, the longest war in U.S. history, ended after the withdrawal of American troops from the country by August 30, 2021. Concurrent with the U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban launched a major offensive in summer 2021 and overthrew the U.S.-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, forcing the evacuation of U.S. diplomatic personnel from Afghanistan. The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs handles American foreign policy on Afghanistan.
