14. The Withdrawal from Afghanistan (2021)
The 2021 withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan was marked by significant challenges, including poor coordination among member states and chaotic scenes at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. The rapid advance of the Taliban led to the swift collapse of the Afghan government, prompting a hurried evacuation of both military personnel and civilians. This situation exposed critical flaws in alliance crisis planning and raised questions about NATO’s preparedness for such rapid transitions (csis.org).
