On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “the hour has come for peace” in Afghanistan.
Of those who saw his statement, many low-information news consumers may have said, “We’re at war with Afghanistan. Who knew?”
Others who once knew we were in a shooting war in the South-Central Asian country against the terrorist Taliban regime probably forgot they knew. After all, it’s been 17 1-2 years, and news from the war rarely gets in the newspapers or makes broadcast reports. But it’s no laughing matter to the families of the more than 2,400 United States troops who have been killed in the country.
For those who may have forgotten, former President George W. Bush, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, demanded that the Taliban, who were the de facto rulers of the country, hand over Osama bin Laden, who was thought to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and was believed to be living or hiding in Afghanistan.
The Taliban refused to extradite him unless it was given clear evidence of his involvement in the attacks, which the United States declined to provide. Thus, on Oct. 7, 2001, the U.S. and the United Kingdom launched Operation Enduring Freedom. And there we have been ever since.