Defeat – Norway in Afghanistan 2015–2021

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Afghanistan Commission (Norway), 10 November 2025

The summary of the second Norwegian independent commission evaluating Norway’s civilian and military engagement in Afghanistan, this time in the period 2015–2021, building on the first commission’s report about the … period. The new report was presented to the ministries of foreign affairs and defence on 6 November and released on 10 November, so far in Norwegian (press release here).

The commission’s report examines five topics in depth: aid, peace diplomacy, military contributions, the evacuation from Kabul (Norwegian soldiers, together with the Americans, were the last to leave Kabul), and the follow-up of Norwegian personnel, local employees, and others with ties to Norway.

The report finds that

American priorities dominated the international engagement in Afghanistan. For Norway, (…) athe desire to be a good ally [of the US] contributed, however, to the absence of critical assessments of the international effort. (…) Discussions among Allies had limited influence on U.S. decisions and the development of the engagement. (…)

In many ways, Kabul’s fall marked the end of an era following the Cold War, in which military and civilian stabilisation operations dominated the international agenda. (…) Norway’s efforts did not change the outcome of the conflict. (…) The final goal, to build a stable, democratic Afghan state, was not achieved. This constitutes the effort’s main defeat. (…)

The level of Norway’s aid was determined politically, rather than on the basis of an assessment of actual needs in Afghanistan. (…) 2015-2021, Norwegian aid to Afghanistan continued largely as it had done in the years 2001–2014. The exception was a new emphasis on preventing migration.

While the commission points out that “Norway also evacuated around 900 Afghans”, it added a sentence not only valid for Norway: “Afghan human rights defenders could have been given better conditions, to enable them to continue their political work.”