The war in Afghanistan has ended.
ISAF in Afghanistan formally ended “Operation Enduring Freedom” this week, to begin “Operation Freedom’s Sentinel” for what the U.S. considers a new mission there.
War in Afghanistan Ends, Except Not at All, U.S. New and World Report
The end of the war has been responsible.
At the White House, President Obama acknowledged that "Afghanistan remains a dangerous place," but added, "Our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion."
Phony end to ongoing war in Afghanistan, Post and Courier
If it is indeed a “responsible conclusion,” then a question arises over how the $1 trillion was spent? According to a recent study by the Financial Times, the United States spent $1.1 trillion, which is approximately $9 million per hour during the past 13 years of the Afghan war.
Was the Afghanistan withdrawal a ‘responsible’ finale?, Al Arabiya
Afghan security forces have taken on previous American responsibilities.
Afghan police were investigating an apparent army rocket strike on a wedding party that killed at least 28 people, many of them women and children, an official said Jan. 1, as President Ashraf Ghani marked the country's transition to full sovereignty after the formal end of the 13-year international military mission.
Police in southern Helmand province were looking into how soldiers came to fire a rocket on a house where a wedding was being celebrated late Wednesday, said the deputy provincial police chief, Bacha Gull.
The rocket appeared to have been fired from an army checkpoint near the house in Sangin district as guests waited for the bride to arrive, he said.
Rocket Kills 26 at Afghan Wedding Party, Associated Press
American forces are no longer engaged in combat in the war.
At least eighteen rebels were killed in air strikes by foreign forces in southeastern Paktika province of Afghanistan on Saturday, said police.
A senior police official, Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai told media that the air assault was carried out in Gayan district of Paktika province early morning. Foreign militants were also among the dead rebels, he added.
Air strikes kill 18 rebels in Afghanistan, KUNA
The end of the war is a cause for celebration.
Although a few officials are trying to put up a good front, there is little to celebrate at the moment. As the clock ran out on 2014, the new American-brokered government failed to produce a cabinet, the last NATO combat forces officially departed at midnight Wednesday, and the insurgents were howling at the gates of the city. Perhaps the spring will bring signs of change, but for now it seems wise to remain circumspect, lie low and huddle under thick winter clothing as invisibly as possible.
Kabul was eerie and dangerous under the Taliban. It feels that way again. Washington Post
The United States has left Afghanistan with a Unity Government.
Palace aides say the appointment process has been delayed by conflicting demands for professional competence, ethnic balance and political rewards, as Gani and Abdullah have divided key agencies and negotiated over candidates.
By all accounts, the crucial pending decision in this Rubik’s Cube of interlocking scenarios and deals is who will head the Interior Ministry, a powerful ethnic fiefdom awash in weapons and riddled with graft. Gani and Abdullah are believed to have agreed on most other ministries, but both leaders face continued pressure from their respective allies to appoint different individuals to the high-stakes post.
Frustrated Afghans wonder who is in charge amid cabinet delays and Taliban attacks, Gulf News
As the governing of Afghanistan is turned over to Afghanistan, the New York Times objects to Afghans governing Afghanistan. The President of Afghanistan wanting to govern Afghanistan is a baffling overreach.
President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan is known for occasionally being hot-tempered. But it was nonetheless baffling to Western diplomats when, in recent days, he abruptly demanded that the United Nations Development Program, the agency that manages hundreds of millions of dollars provided by Western donors to run the police force, relinquish responsibility for the fund within six months.
Mr. Ghani seems to think the Afghan government, despite its history of endemic corruption, could do a better job.
The Afghan President’s Overreach, New York Times
Western officials, in managing the $9 million dollars per hour we spent in Afghanistan, and in fighting endemic Afghan corruption, had done a better job.
Western officials, in this case, were caught off guard. Despite the billions of dollars their countries spend to pay the police, many American and European officials were not aware that the police had not been paid for nearly two months. They first heard about it when contacted by a reporter on Sunday.
Afghan Police, Often Derided, Face Another Drawback: Missing Pay, New York Times
Official declarations that the war is over in Afghanistan, told to the American people, bring the war to a responsible end.