The Fall of the Taliban and the Bonn Conference

This chapter addresses early events in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime. The United States took steps to create a new government and constitution, but was preoccupied with the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Meanwhile, an internal struggle to fill the power vacuum ensued between local warlords who each aimed to exploit U.S. efforts according to their interests. Without a governing strategy that looked beyond the ouster of the Taliban, the United States eventually found itself unable to adapt to a dynamic situation.