Longest Afghan war

On 26 November 2010, NATO forces equalled, and now have exceeded, the amount of time the Russians spent in Afghanistan. The Russians sought to prop up a communist regime facing an uprising, whereas the US and its allies entered Afghanistan to subdue the Taliban and destroy the terrorist organisation Al Qaeda. The Russians invaded on 27 December 1979 and departed on 15 February 1989. NATO forces have been in Afghanistan since 7 October 2001 and have now been there for nine years and 116 days to the end of January 2011 and will be there on current plans to 2014. To date, the Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, who heads the US ‘most wanted’ list with a price of US$25 million on his head, has not been captured.