War in Afghanistan officially over. Does that mean end of fighting for US?
| Washington
The US military officially ended its combat operations in Afghanistan in a small Sunday ceremony that made it clear that NATO was not interested in calling a great deal of attention to the occasion.
With the new name of Operation Freedom鈥檚 Sentinel 鈥� it鈥檚 no longer Operation Enduring Freedom 鈥� the ongoing military campaign will now consist of some 13,000 service members, most of them US troops.
鈥淔or more than 13 years, ever since nearly 3,000 innocent lives were taken from us on 9/11, our nation has been at war in Afghanistan,鈥� President Obama said in a statement. Now, he said, 鈥渙ur combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion.鈥�
But will this milestone marker in America鈥檚 longest war actually mean that US troops will be fighting less?
Mr. Obama acknowledged that Afghanistan 鈥渞emains a dangerous place.鈥�
For this reason, the United States 鈥渨ill pursue two missions鈥� in the country going forward, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement Sunday.
Job No. 1 will be 鈥渁dvising, assisting, and training鈥� Afghan soldiers and police.
The other mission will be 鈥渃ounterterrorism鈥� operations 鈥渁gainst the remnants of Al Qaeda to ensure that Afghanistan is never again used to stage attacks against our homeland,鈥� Secretary Hagel said.
Still, US military officials have struggled to clarify what the 鈥渃ounterterrorism鈥� mission will entail. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 target Taliban for the sake 鈥� just merely for the sake 鈥� of the fact that they鈥檙e Taliban and quote unquote belligerents,鈥� Rear Adm. John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, said in November. But 鈥渟hould members of the Taliban decide to threaten American troops or specifically target and threaten our Afghan partners in a tactical situation, we鈥檙e going to reserve the right to take action as needed.鈥�
It is also unclear how the Pentagon will define 鈥渢hreatening鈥� actions that would allow US troops to attack.
The counterterrorism mission ensures that 鈥渢he official end of combat operations does not mean the end of combat,鈥� says Christopher Swift, adjunct professor of National Security Studies at Georgetown University鈥檚 School of Foreign Service in Washington.
This will primarily be the purview of US Special Operations Forces, 鈥渨ho will continue to be engaged in operations against defined targets.鈥�
鈥淪o if I were a member of the Taliban senior operational leadership, I鈥檇 expect to be dealing with US forces,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 mid-level, I鈥檇 expect to be fighting against Afghan security forces.鈥�
The Taliban declared its 鈥渄efeat鈥� of US forces on the heels of the Sunday ceremony, vowing to continue fighting. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) 鈥渞olled up its flag in an atmosphere of failure and disappointment without having achieved anything substantial or tangible,鈥� a Taliban spokesman said in a statement.
More US troops 鈥� roughly 1,000 of them 鈥� than originally planned will remain in Afghanistan in 2015. These forces had been scheduled to leave the country this year. There are currently some 10,000 US troops in Afghanistan.
More than 2,200 US service members have died in the country, where US taxpayers have spent more than $1 trillion on the war, in addition to $100 billion to help rebuild the nation.
