The Doha Accord committed the US to full withdrawal from Afghanistan, directly enabling the Taliban's return to power in August 2021.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 29 February 2020
- Initial US troop reduction
- 13,000 to 8,600 within 135 days
- Full withdrawal deadline
- 1 May 2021 (14 months after signing)
- US troops remaining by Jan 2021
- 2,500 troops
- US military bases to close
- 5 within 135 days
- Taliban takeover of Kabul
- 15 August 2021
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan, the first Trump administration sought to negotiate a withdrawal. US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad led talks with the Taliban in Doha, deliberately excluding the elected Afghan government, as Washington sought a diplomatic exit from its longest-running conflict.
On 29 February 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the Doha Accord in Qatar. The agreement required a phased US and NATO military withdrawal in exchange for Taliban counter-terrorism guarantees. It included secret annexes, sharply curtailed US air support for Afghan forces, and set a final withdrawal deadline of 1 May 2021.
US air raids dropped dramatically, undermining Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and fostering a sense of abandonment. Insurgent attacks surged, killing thousands of Afghan troops. By August 30, 2021, the US completed its evacuation; the Taliban had seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, ending the Afghan republic.
Political Outcome
The US and NATO fully withdrew from Afghanistan; the Taliban took control of the country by force by August 2021, collapsing the Afghan republic.
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (US-backed government) in power; US and NATO forces present
Taliban in control of Afghanistan; US and NATO forces fully withdrawn