Afghanistan and Iraq Timelines

Kenneth L. Alford, “Afghanistan and Iraq Timelines,” in Saints at War: The Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 37‒48.

Note: Entries represent local time where the event occurred, unless otherwise noted.

Afghanistan
(Operation Enduring Freedom)

Iraq

(Operation Iraqi Freedom)

Church and World History

2001

October

7 Operation Enduring Freedom begins as American and British forces attack Afghanistan

14 White House rejects Taliban offer to send Osama bin Laden to a third country for trial if U.S. provides evidence of involvement in 9/11 attacks

19 First U.S. combat ground actions

26 Britain deploys 4,200 soldiers to Afghanistan

November

13 Fall of Kabul to U.S. and coalition forces

December

2–5 Bonn Conference creates Afghan Interim Authority, outlines process for creating a new government

9 Last Taliban stronghold surrenders in Zabol province, near Pakistan; al-Qaeda fighters hide in mountain caves

20 UN authorizes the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to support Afghans

22 Hamid Karzai sworn in as head of interim power-sharing Afghan government

February

16-17 British and U.S. conduct air strikes against radar and air defense centers near Baghdad

August

27 Iraq claims to shoot down an unmanned U.S. Predator drone near Basra

September

11 Saddam Hussein declares his government played no part in the 9/11 attacks

January

20 George W. Bush sworn in as 43rd U.S. President

February

15 The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve approve guidelines to reaffirm the correct name of the Church

July

16 Sino-Russian Friendship Treaty signed

August

21 NATO sends peace-keeping force to Macedonia

September

11 Terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93

October

8 Office of Homeland Security created

December

11 China joins the World Trade Organization

13 The U.S. withdraws from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

22 Richard Reid attempts to detonate a shoe bomb on American Airlines Flight 63

27 China is granted permanent normal trade status with the U.S.

2002

January

23 Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is abducted in Karachi, Pakistan

February

21 Daniel Pearl is confirmed dead

March

25 Plans announced to create an Afghan National Army

June

13 Hamid Karzai elected to two-year presidential term

August

9 NATO assumes responsibility for UN ISAF mission

July

5 Saddam Hussein rejects new UN weapons inspections

September

12 President George W. Bush addresses the UN and calls for action regarding Iraq

November

8 UN Security Council unanimously passes resolution to force Iraq to disarm

October

2 U.S. Congress passes the Iraq war resolution, authorizing use of force in Iraq

16 Pres. Bush signs the Iraq war resolution

February

Utah hosts the 2002 Winter Olympics

June

27 Nauvoo Illinois Temple dedicated

September

9-10 President Hinckley visits Russia and Ukraine

10 Switzerland joins the UN

2003

March

1 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, key planner of the 9/11 attacks, arrested by CIA and Pakistani police

10 Afghanistan officially activates .AF Internet domain

28 UN Security Council extends assistance mission in Afghanistan for another year

April

16 NATO unanimously agrees to take command of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) in Afghanistan–first time in NATO history for a mission outside the North Atlantic area

22 Afghanistan-Pakistan talks held regarding borders, trade, and terrorism

May

1 Afghanistan joins the International Criminal Court

23 Afghan Ministry of Health begins polio vaccination campaign

June

6 Pres. Hamid Karzi receives honorary British knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II

November

27 President George W. Bush makes surprise visit to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan

February

5 U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell briefs UN that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein poses an imminent threat

14 UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix reports to UN Security Council that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq

March

17 President George W. Bush issues ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq in forty-eight hours or face military action

19 U.S. and coalition forces begin military actions against Iraq

April

9 Coalition forces take Baghdad

May

1 President Bush declares end to “major combat operations”

22 UN Security Council approves resolution acknowledging the U.S. and UK’s right to occupy Iraq

December

13 Saddam Hussein is captured in Tikrit, Iraq

January

24 U.S. Department of Homeland Security begins operation

February

1 Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates on reentry, killing all seven astronauts

26 Fighting in Darfur, Sudan, begins

April

14 Human Genome Project completed

August

27 U.S., Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea begin talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program

2004

January

Afghanistan passes a new constitution by consensus

October

9 Afghanistan holds first direct democratic election

December

7 Hamid Karzai is sworn in as first democratically elected president of Afghanistan

April

Abu Ghraib prison abuse is brought to light

June

28 U.S.-led coalition hands over sovereignty to interim Iraqi government

August

U.S. and Iraqi forces battle followers of Shi‘ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf, Iraq

November

U.S. and Iraqi forces battle insurgents in Falluja—2,000 insurgents killed

19 Iraqi civilians killed in Haditha, Iraq; eight U.S. Marines face charges; one convicted

January

Church membership passes twelve million

August

1 Mexico becomes first country outside U.S. with over one million Church members

November

Preach My Gospel is published

2 George Bush is reelected U.S. president

2005

September

First parliamentary election in three decades is held

December

Afghan Parliament holds its first session

February

26 U.S. Army PFC Lynndie England found guilty by military court regarding Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse

April

2 Abu Ghraib prison is attacked by insurgent forces

August

28 Proposed Constitution signed by Iraqi National Assembly

February

10 North Korea announces it has nuclear weapons

April

2 Pope John Paul II dies; succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI

August

29 Hurricane Katrina strikes U.S.

2006

March

1 President Bush makes first visit to Afghanistan

October

NATO assumes responsibility for security operations in Afghanistan

February

22 Al Askari Mosque, a Shi’ite Islam holy site, is bombed in Samarra, Iraq

23-24 168 Sunni Islam mosques across Iraq attacked in retaliation

November

5 Saddam Hussein is found guilty, sentenced to death

December

30 Saddam Hussein is hanged

January

19 NASA launches mission to Pluto

March

15 UN Human Rights Council is established

October

9 North Korea conducts first nuclear test

2007

February

15 President Bush calls on NATO to increase troops in Afghanistan

27 Suicide bomber blows up at Bagram Air Base checkpoint, killing more than twenty

May

11 Taliban top commander, Mullah Dadullah, killed in U.S.-led coalition operation

January

10 U.S. troop surge begins, sending additional soldiers to Iraq

September

3 British troops withdraw from Basra

April

16 Virginia Tech shooting occurs; thirty-two dead and seventeen wounded

June

24 Church membership reaches thirteen million

2008

July

19 Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama visits Afghanistan

December

15 President Bush makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

July

10 General David Petraeus confirmed as commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)

16 U.S. troop surge officially ends

December

4 Iraqi Presidential Council approves security agreement for U.S. to withdraw from Iraq by 2011

January

27 President Gordon B. Hinckley dies

February

3 Thomas S. Monson becomes Church president

17 Kosovo declares independence from Serbia

November

4 Barack Obama elected U.S. president

December

27 Israel invades the Gaza Strip

2009

February

17 President Obama approves 17,000-troop increase

June

30 Sergeant Bowe R. Bergdahl taken hostage by the Taliban (released in 2014)

August

20 Afghanistan holds second national election

October

31 Runoff election canceled after Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah withdraws

November

19 Hamid Karzai sworn in for second term as Afghan president

December

1 President Obama announces deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops

January

U.S. Opens new embassy in Baghdad

1 U.S. hands over control of Baghdad’s Green Zone to Iraqi authorities

22 Estonia and El Salvador end missions in Iraq

31 Iraqi provincial elections held

April

7 President Obama makes unannounced trip to visit U.S. troops in Iraq

February

27 President Obama announces August 31, 2010, as end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq

June

30 Iraqi troops take over security operations

September

11 Inmates at Abu Ghraib prison riot for two days

January

Three-week war between Israel and Gaza

12 UN Security Council unanimously expands sanctions against North Korea

15 Captain Chesley Sullenberger safely lands U.S. Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River

20 Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th U.S. president

June

11 Swine flu outbreak begins

November

5 U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan kills thirteen and wounds thirty-two at Fort Hood, Texas

2010

January

28 Over sixty nations meet in London for International Conference on Afghanistan

March

28 President Obama visits Afghanistan

August

1 The Netherlands becomes first NATO member to pull combat troops out of Afghanistan

September

18 Afghan parliamentary elections are held

December

3 President Obama visits Afghanistan

August

19 Last U.S. combat forces leave Iraq; 52,000 U.S. support troops remain

September

1 Operation Iraqi Freedom is renamed Operation New Dawn

15 Inmated at Abu Ghraib prison riot for two days

January

12 Earthquake in Haiti killed approz. 300,000 people

April

20 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico

July

25 WikiLeaks publishes over 90,000 classified documents on the War in Afghanistan

August

29 Kyiv Ukraine Temple dedicated

November

28 WikiLeaks publishes 250,000 classified U.S. documents

December

17 Self-immolation of Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi triggers the Arab Spring

2011

May

2 Navy Seals kill Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan

June

22 President Obama announces U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan will end by 2014

July

13 First U.S. soldiers leave Afghanistan

August

10 Mullah Mohibullah, Taliban leader, is killed

May

22 Last British military forces in Iraq withdraw

October

17 U.S. and Iraq unable to reach agreement regarding legal immunity for remaining U.S. troops

December

15 U.S. military mission in Iraq ends

18 Last U.S. troops in Iraq cross into Kuwait

February

11 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns

15 Libyan Civil War begins

March

11 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit Japan

15 Syrian government kills hundreds of protesters, sparking civil war

July

21 NASA’s space shuttle program ends

October

20 Muammar Gaddafi is killed, ending Libyan civil war

2012

February

21 Violent protests in Afghanistan over false reports that copies of the Koran were burned at a U.S. military base

April

8 Afghan authorities are given veto over special operations night raids

May

2 U.S. and Afghanistan sign strategic partnership agreement for ten years of U.S. support

September

20 End of U.S. forces surge in Afghanistan

Widespread and frequent violence throughout Iraq

February

12 Turkish warplane attack sites in northern Iraq

April

19 Bombings in Samarra, Kirkuk, and Baghdad in Iraq’s worst violence in weeks

July

30 Worst blackout in history—620 million people without power in India

September

11 U.S. ambassador Christopher Stephens is killed in Benghazi, Libya

October

6 President Thomas S. Monson announces changes in eligibility age for missionaries

November

6 Barack Obama is reelected

2013

May

27 President Obama announces U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan will end December 2014

June

18 Afghan National Security Forces take over combat operations

September

30 U.S. and Afghanistan sign joint security agreement allowing U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond December deadline

Numerous suicide bombers and insurgent attacks throughout the year across the country

February

28 Pope Benedict XVI resigns

March

13 Pope Francis is elected

April

15 Boston Marathon bombing

November

24 Iran agrees to limit nuclear program

2014

September

30 U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Security agreement and NATO-Afghanistan Status of Forces Agreement signed

October

26 UK officially ends combat operations in Afghanistan

December

28 U.S. and NATO end combat mission in Afghanistan

June

5 Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attacks northern Iraq

5 ISIS captures Mosul, Iraq

29 ISIS declares itself a caliphate

August

8 U.S. begins air campaign against ISIS

February

Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa

March

21 Russia annexes Crimea

September

22 U.S. begins air campaign against Syrian government

2015

Taliban resurgence across Afghanistan

May

21 ISIS captures Palmyra, Syria

22 ISIS controls half of Syria and all the Iraq/Syria border crossings

July

20 U.S. and Cuba reestablish full diplomatic relations

September

30 Russia begins air strikes against Syrian rebels

November

13 ISIS attacks in Paris (130 killed)

2016

Numerous Taliban attacks and bombings across Afghanistan

February

9 Iraqi forces retake Ramadi

June

26 Iraqi forces retake Fallujah

February

7 North Korea launches rocket into space

June

23 Britain votes to leave the European Union

July

14 Terrorist truck attack in Nice, France (eighty-six killed)

September

9 North Korea conducts fifth nuclear test

November

8 Donald Trump is elected U.S. president

2017

April

13 U.S. drops largest non-nuclear weapon on ISIS base in Afghanistan

July

10 Mosul liberated from ISIS

October

17 Raqqa, Syria, liberated from ISIS

December

9 Iraqi military announces ISIS removed from Iraq

February

11 North Korea fires missile across the Sea of Japan

April

6 U.S. launches fifty-nine cruise missiles at Syrian air base in response to chemical weapons attack

June

1 U.S. announces decision to withdraw from Paris Climate Agreement

August

25 Hurricane Harvey strikes U.S. (costliest natural disaster in U.S. history)

September

3 North Korea conducts sixth nuclear test

October

1 Las Vegas shooting (58 killed, 851 injured)

December

6 U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

2018

October

12 U.S. and Taliban hold initial round of peace talks in Qatar

November

14-16 Round two of U.S.-Taliban peace talks in Qatar

December

17 Round three of U.S.-Taliban peace talks in United Arab Emirates

December

19 President Trump declares ISIS defeated in Iraq and Syria; announces withdrawal of some U.S. forces from Syria

March

11 China’s government grants Xi Jinping status of president for life

31 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints restructures elder quorums and high priest groups

April

1 President Russell M. Nelson announced the end of home and visiting teaching and the beginning of ministering

14 U.S., UK, and France bomb Syrian bases

May

8 U.S. withdraws from Iranian nuclear deal

December

14 Latter-day Saint leaders announced Aaronic Priesthood and Young Women changes of eleven-year-olds

2019

January

8 Round four of U.S.-Taliban peace talks are canceled

February

27 Round five of U.S.-Taliban peace talks begin in Qatar

March

12 Round five of U.S.-Taliban peace talks end

May

1-9 Round six of U.S.-Taliban peace talks in Qatar

June

23 Round seven of U.S.-Taliban peace talks in Doha 

August

3 Round eight of U.S.-Taliban peace talks in Doha

22 Round nine of U.S.-Taliban peace talks begin in Qatar

 

January

1 Two-hour Church services and the Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families resource began for Latter-day Saints

March

9 President Russell M. Nelson met with Pope Francis

10 Rome Italy Temple dedicated