Knowra The Afghanistan Papers The Afghanistan Papers The Afghanistan Papers are internal U.S. government records about the war in Afghanistan, published by The Washington Post in 2019. They document officials’ private assessments of the conflict and its progress.
Washington Post : An American newspaper founded in 1877 and based in Washington, D.C. The newspaper obtained and published the records in December 2019.
Afghanistan reconstruction : Efforts by the United States and its partners to rebuild Afghan institutions and infrastructure after 2001. The interviews focused heavily on how reconstruction programs were designed and carried out.
War in Afghanistan : The conflict that began with the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and ended with the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. The papers became a major record of the conflict’s aims, conduct, and perceived progress.
Official statements on the Afghanistan war : Public remarks by U.S. officials describing the goals, progress, or prospects of the war in Afghanistan. The papers are notable for the contrast between these public claims and private accounts.
Historical method : The practices historians use to evaluate evidence, interpret sources, and construct accounts of the past. The papers require weighing interview testimony against records produced for different purposes.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction : The U.S. government office established to oversee reconstruction spending and programs in Afghanistan. Its interviews and documents supplied much of the material behind the reporting.
Counterinsurgency : Military, political, and economic actions intended to defeat an insurgency and secure public support. Officials assessed the war through strategies that combined combat with efforts to win Afghan support.
Afghanistan withdrawal : The departure of U.S. and allied forces from Afghanistan, completed in August 2021. The records sharpened debate over what policymakers knew before the withdrawal.
Classified information : Government information whose access is restricted under laws or regulations for security reasons. The papers included government records, but their publication does not mean every document was classified.
Oral history : The collection and study of recorded recollections and testimony about the past. Many accounts in the archive are retrospective interviews, not contemporaneous battlefield reports.
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