Afghanistan

Life in a country torn apart by endless war

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Introduction

Three days after the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush stood before the ruins of the shattered World Trade Center and rallied his stunned and wounded nation: “I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!” The crowd responded with chants: “USA, USA, USA…” Within a month, America was at war in Afghanistan.

 

Thirteen years and more than 2,350 servicemember lives later, America is closing a chapter on the longest war in the nation’s history: Operation Enduring Freedom, the mission to rout al-Qaida and drive the Taliban from power in Afghanistan.

 

During those long years, the U.S. military – along with its NATO partners – have battled insurgents and worked to establish and train Afghan security forces. Along the way, the military has changed the way it fights, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq.

 

It has adopted tactics of counterinsurgency. It has faced threats including suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices and enemies who wear no uniforms and fight among civilians that the troops are pledged to protect.

 

At the height of the Afghan war, the U.S. fielded more than 100,000 ground troops. By the end of this year, the number will fall to fewer than 10,000. It has been a war with mixed results. A fledgling Afghan democracy is in place. The architect of 9/11, Osama bin Laden is dead. But the Taliban remain bowed but not beaten. Going forward, the military’s primary mission is to advise and assist Afghan forces.

 

With the curtain coming down on combat operations, Stars and Stripes will spend the month of December looking back at the U.S. troops who have fought in the war, what they encountered, and how they coped.

The Faces of War

Life on the FOB

"I think that the political deal was the best option and alternative to overcome the situation. We signed (it) to save Afghanistan.”

 

 

- Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's Chief Exective

Election Day