• Sediqullah Anwary
• Obaidullah Zarifi

Abstract This study critically examines the strategic outcomes of U.S. intervention in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021, arguing that underlying economic and geopolitical ambitions significantly shaped policy alongside declared counterterrorism and democratization objectives. Employing a tripartite analytical framework of geopolitical realism, liberal state-building, and humanitarian intervention, it explores: (1) economic exploitation of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth; (2) containment of regional powers (China, Russia, Iran); and (3) promotion of Western governance norms. While U.S. efforts yielded infrastructural development, expanded social services, and temporary advancements in women’s rights and civil society, these were ultimately undermined by endemic corruption, cultural insensitivity, and strategic miscalculations—most notably the Doha Agreement and rapid fall of Bagram Airbase. Drawing on 120 primary documents, peer-reviewed studies, and interviews with Afghan officials, the findings underscore the imperative of culturally attuned, participatory frameworks for sustainable peace and development.

Afghanistan · U.S. foreign policy · geopolitical strategy · state-building · humanitarian intervention · mineral resources · Taliban

"Strategic Ambitions and Fragile Outcomes: A Multidimensional Analysis of U.S. Engagement in Afghanistan (2001–2021)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 5, page no.g397-g400, May-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2505736.pdf

"Strategic Ambitions and Fragile Outcomes: A Multidimensional Analysis of U.S. Engagement in Afghanistan (2001–2021)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 5, page no. ppg397-g400, May-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2505736.pdf