The Withdrawal of International Forces from Afghanistan – Security Threats for the States and the Region

Abstract

The paper discusses the problem of the withdrawal of multinational forces from the territory of Afghanistan in 2021. An attempt is made to answer the question: What has caused the failure of the international intervention and what could the further consequences of the withdrawal of the NATO coalition forces be? The paper also presents the problem of the decay of Afghanistan and threats to Polish military contingents during the ‘Enduring Freedom’, ISAF and ‘Resolute Support’ operations. The study takes advantage of the results of unique research conducted by the author in the zones of war and stabilization in Afghanistan and previously unpublished source documents. The field research was carried out in the area of responsibility of the Polish Task Force stationed in the Ghazni province in March and April 2009. Moreover, the non-confidential part of the documentation from the activities of individual organizational units of the Polish military contingent was used. The chapter may be of interest to researchers of international and national security, academics (teachers and students) of military and civilian universities as well as activists of governmental and non-governmental organizations providing aid in areas of armed conflicts and after their end.