U.S. and NATO Officially End Combat Mission in Afghanistan

The U.S. and nato officially ended their combat missions in Afghanistan on December 8. Thirteen years after the September 11 attacks nato ‘s International Security Assistance Force (isaf) lowered its flag, formally ending its deployment

U.S. Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of nato and U.S. forces, said that the mission will transition to a training and support role for Afghanistan’s own security forces.

“The Afghan security forces are very, very capable and I’m proud to have been associated with them for these many years. They have to make some changes in the leadership which they’re doing; they have got to hold people accountable; and they’ve got to build the systems that are very hard for any army, you know sustainment systems, logistical systems, those are very hard for any army, and they will continue to improve with them with coalition support,” he said.

Coalition forces will maintain 13,000 troops in Afghanistan after January 1, 2015, down from a peak of approximately 140,000 in 2011.

The mission ends even as the Taliban is growing in strength and is increasing its attacks, demonstrating how little there is to show for the blood and treasure America has spent in Afghanistan.

Learn more about how crushing America’s defeat in Afghanistan really is. Read “Buried in Afghanistan,” in the January 2015 issue of the Trumpet magazine.