US Formally Ends War in Afghanistan

The United States formally ended its longest fought war in Afghanistan Sunday, 28 December. Officials of the International Security Assistance Force held a flag-lowering ceremony at its headquarters.

The war started in 2001 just after the 9/11 attacks. The goal was to end the Taliban rule and Osama Bin Laden, the hated leader of the terrorist organisation behind the attacks.

"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," President Obama said in a written statement issued from Hawaii, where he is vacationing. "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."

"In the wake of the Taliban's defeat in 2001, Afghanistan possessed no standing, professional security forces," Army General John Campbell, chief of the International Security Assistance Force, said. "Over the course of a decade, our Afghan partners and we have built a highly capable Afghan army and police force of over 350,000 personnel."

Sunday marked the formal handing off to the largely U.S.-trained Afghan military. There will still be around 10,800 U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan, a drastic fall from 100,000 in 2010 but still more than the number deployed there in 2003 and 2004, which was 10,400.

The war has cost the US more than $1 trillion and the nation and its allies lost 3,485 personnel in combat.