Retrograde: What Happened In Afghanistan After US’ Withdrawal

Retrograde portrays the disastrous withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan but does not depict the long-term consequences of this choice.

Retrograde tells the gripping story of the United States’ embattled withdrawal from Afghanistan, and while it’s focused on the final days of the war in August 2021, the documentary does not detail what has happened since then. The film is directed by veteran documentary maker Matthew Heineman, who is best known for his critically acclaimed feature Cartel Land.

Retrograde offers a unique insight into the debacle, as the film crew was directly embedded with a unit of Green Beret soldiers and the Afghan National Army. The withdrawal from America’s longest war was widely seen as a disaster, with severe consequences for the local populace caught between the fighting going on between various forces. The National Geographic documentary, available on Disney+, ends with Operation Allies Refuge, a U.S. military operation that sought to airlift select Afghanis from the country. Although the departure of the U.S. military would not be the end of Afghanistan’s troubles.

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The Taliban Completely Conquered Afghanistan

As mentioned in Retrograde, the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan during a country-wide offensive campaign by the Taliban. The Taliban, who had been at war with the Afghani government and coalition forces for years, had used the beginning of the U.S.’s withdrawal to start their campaign. After the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban continued their offensive and eventually conquered the entire country — with the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, being completely overrun by August 2021 (via CNBC).

The fall of the Afghani government in light of the U.S.’s withdrawal led to widespread chaos throughout the country. The president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country, and most of the Afghan National Army surrendered to the Taliban. The Taliban was also able to capture billions in U.S. weaponry left behind during the withdrawal. Additionally, the subsequent takeover of the Taliban also reignited widespread conflict between the Taliban and the Islamic State’s Afghani branch. With their newfound powers, the Taliban also widely restricted the rights of women throughout the country (via The New York Times).

The U.S. Still Continues To Aid The Country In Spite Of Its Military Withdrawal

Although Retrograde ends with the U.S. pulling its forces out of Afghanistan, the country still continues to receive aid from the American government. This assistance is mainly in the form of humanitarian aid, with the U.S. reportedly donating $1.1 billion dollars to the country a year after the military’s withdrawal. This aid is often distributed via several international humanitarian organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (via the U.S. State Department). In addition to providing monetary assistance to the Afghani people, the U.S. continues to strongly rebuke totalitarian actions taken by the Taliban government against its citizens.

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