The Taliban is deepening its rule of Afghanistan four years after the U.S. withdrawal. CBS News' Charlie D'Agata looks back at the conflict in the Middle East.

Kabul

It has been four years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, following the withdrawal of US troops as announced by then President Joe Biden. The rapid collapse of Afghan provincial capitals led to the Taliban's entry into Kabul, with the final US troops departing soon after, ending America's longest military engagement.

Since the takeover, Afghanistan has experienced intensified repression, particularly against women, girls, journalists, and dissenters, as reported by Human Rights Watch. The country remains economically isolated, with foreign investment scarce and ongoing security threats from groups such as ISIS. While overall violence has decreased due to the end of open conflict, Afghanistan continues to face significant humanitarian and social challenges.

Four years since Taliban took control of Afghanistan

Well, this marks four years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and went from insurgency to authority in the country. Here's how it unfolded. On April 14th, 2021, then President Joe Biden announced a full withdrawal of all 2,500 U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Now, that drawdown was slated to be by September 11th, in time for the 20th anniversary of the conflict. On August 15th, 2021, the Taliban, facing little resistance, marched into Kabul and overran the Afghan capital. On August 26th, 13 U.S. service members and around 170 Afghans were killed by an ISIS suicide bombing at Kabul Airport's Abbey Gate, as thousands of people were being evacuated. Then, on August 30th, the Pentagon announced that the last U.S. troops had left Afghanistan, bringing America's longest war to an end. Now, since then, the Human Rights Watch says the Taliban has deepened its repression over Afghanistan by intensifying restrictions on the rights of women and girls, detained journalists, and silenced dissent. Now, for more on this, I want to bring in CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie Dagata. Now, Charlie, looking back four years on, what lessons have been learned by the fall of Kabul? Yeah, Michael, that's the subject of ongoing investigations—what went wrong, who was responsible, who was culpable, and how the United States military can do better. I interviewed the last U.S. commander in charge of the mission just days before that drawdown—NATO's Resolute Support, is what it was called—General Austin or Scott Miller. I asked him what he feared most, because he was planning this drawdown. He said, look, if these provincial capitals start falling, places like Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar, Ghazni—you know, words we were familiar back then, not so much now—then Afghan forces were in real trouble. And that's exactly what happened. Literally, in a matter of weeks, they felt like dominoes. Earlier this week, President Trump signed a proclamation honoring 13 U.S. servicemembers, as you said, killed in that suicide bombing in Kabul during that chaotic withdrawal. Also, we need to remember, at least 170 Afghan civilians were killed in that bombing by the Afghanistan branch of ISIS. That is worrying. And what was worrying then is maybe even more worrying now. The Taliban may be in control, but ISIS is their sworn enemy, and those terrorist attacks continue. And, Charlie, you spent extensive time in Afghanistan reporting from there. Is it the same place that it was four years ago? How has it changed? Well, you know, it changed over the years. I mean, I spent decades there. And in the beginning, it was a full-on war. Remember, the Taliban was harboring al-Qaida. And this is the reason that the United States invaded. We also have to remember, 2,459 military personnel were killed. An additional 20,000 were wounded. Eighteen members of the CIA were killed there. Eighteen hundred civilian contractors were killed there. So, at times, it was an all-out war. You know, this is—the United States is battling the Taliban, an insurgency, trying to prop up the Afghan military. It was rife with corruption. It may still be now. Things have changed in terms of that conflict has gone away, right? United States service members are no longer in danger. The violence has gone down because they're not at war. However, as you said, women are suppressed there, and oppressed there. The Taliban is in control. They don't have a lot of money because they are still essentially pariahs. They're not trading with the United States. Even China, who had gone in there with great promises of investment, even they've pulled out, because, you know, the Taliban—it's difficult to do business with the Taliban there. So, in terms of sheer casualties, annual casualties, that's gone down, because it's not a country in conflict anymore. But in terms of way of life or a way forward or progress or going into the future, Afghanistan is still suffering under the Taliban. Some important perspective there. Charlie Daggett, thanks for joining us. Thank you.

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Breakdown