Log in to hire Diego

Diego Ibarra Sanchez

Photographer; Educator; Video journalist
   
In Afghanistan, American Special Forces ´s Presence winds down
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality: Spanish
Biography: www.diegoibarra.com Diego Ibarra Sánchez, 1982, Spain,  is a renowned documentary photographer, filmmaker, and educator who is based in Lebanon. His work primarily focuses on in-depth, long-form visual storytelling, and he is known... MORE
Public Story
In Afghanistan, American Special Forces ´s Presence winds down
Copyright Diego Ibarra 2024
Updated Aug 2021
Topics Photography, Spotlight
The US government has begun its gradual military drawdown in Afghanistan, bringing to an end combat operations there nearly 13 years after al-Qaeda's strike against the US on 9/11. In June 2011, President Obama announced his plan to begin the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. After that, he revealed his long-awaited plan for Afghanistan on, announcing that a residual force of 9,800 U.S. troops will remain there for one year following the end of combat operations in December 2014. That number will be cut in half at the end of 2015, and reduced at the end of 2016 to a small military presence at the U.S. Embassy.

The American Special Forces teams have over the past decade become a central part of the local security landscape in Afghanistan. The 12-man teams are embedded in remote areas with a high insurgent threat, and they train indigenous police and elite Afghan units while coordinating the efforts of the local government and security bureaucracies. They also hunt down Taliban figures.

More than ever, the Special Forces are trying to have their Afghan counterparts take the lead. While that has always ostensibly been the plan, it only really began to be a focus this year, when it dawned on commanders that one way or another they were leaving. The American team captain in Koh-e-Safi acknowledged that it had been hard to keep his men from going out on missions.

Meantime, the present situation in Afghanistan is quite problematic. Civilians seem to have paid the heaviest price in the Afghan war, and the death toll of those not involved in the conflict continues to rise. The war in Afghanistan continues taking and destroying lives. Civilians have been killed by crossfire, improvised explosive devices, assassination and bombing.


LinkedIn Icon Facebook Icon Twitter Icon
3,019

Also by Diego Ibarra Sanchez —

Story

GAZA air drop aid

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Gaza
Story

Lebanon border for LA TIMES

Diego Ibarra Sanchez / Lebanon
Story

Cedars of God

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Lebanon
Story

Circus brings back hope in Ukraine

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia
Story

Earthquake Turkey Syria Aftermath

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Turkey
Story

Ukraine_UNICEF

Diego Ibarra Sanchez / Ukraine
Story

PhoenicianCollapse/exhibitions/ElcolapsoDKV

Diego Ibarra Sanchez / Zaragoza, Spain
Story

EWIPA Iraq

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Iraq
Story

Patriotic eduction Ukraine

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Ukraine
Story

Prison break Syria

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Hasakah, Syria
Story

the collapse

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Lebanon
Story

Faith in French Army

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Lebanon
Story

ART PRINTS

Diego Ibarra
Story

Crisis and Covid in Lebanon

Diego Ibarra Sánchez
Story

NYT: Beirut: 06:08 pm aftermath

Diego Ibarra Sánchez
Story

NYT: Where cannabis grows everywhere

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Lebanon
Story

Anatomy Revolution

Diego Ibarra
Story

Ukraine borderland

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Ukraine
Story

Beirut

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Beirut, Lebanon
Story

Caught in the crossfire

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Ukraine
Story

Mandela Legacy, Gambia UNDP

Diego Ibarra / The Gambia
Story

Yazidi Legacy

Diego Ibarra / sinjar,
Story

CNN: Tripoli´s turmoil

Diego Ibarra Sánchez / Tripoli, Lebanon
Story

Orphans of War in Mosul

Diego Ibarra Sánchez
In Afghanistan, American Special Forces ´s Presence winds down by Diego Ibarra
Sign-up for
For more access