Obama is really good at officially ending wars. He's not terribly good at ending them in reality.
Obama ended the war in Afghanistan in 2014. Officially.
Today's ceremony in Kabul marks a milestone for our country. For 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. Now, thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion.
Also officially the US forces are fighting there to provide "advice" and "assistance". Just like in Iraq. And just like in Iraq, it didn't work. So there will be a lot more advising and assisting with heavy firepower.
Obama has granted U.S. military commanders more freedom to strike Taliban targets in support of Afghan troops, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Friday.
"This is not a blanket order to target the Taliban," the official said.
Of course not. We wouldn't want to offend them.
The new rules could also open the door for more U.S. airstrikes and ground action against the Taliban to ensure U.S. and Afghan forces are protected, the official indicated. Still, the Pentagon does not believe U.S. troops will be "in direct combat," the official said
Sure. Just like in Iraq and Syria.
As of now, the U.S. military broadly has authority to strike any targets on the ground under three scenarios: to protect U.S. forces on ground; to go after the remnants of Al Qaeda; and to protect Afghan forces when they are facing imminent danger of being overrun by the Taliban.
The discussion inside the administration has been centered around whether to change those authorities so U.S. warplanes could now strike Taliban targets even if they do not pose a direct imminent threat.
So US forces will now be allowed to bomb the Taliban. Only under Obama would this be some sort of controversial move.