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Provided by Time Article AFGHANISTAN-UNREST-ISAF-NATO

The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan ended its combat mission Sunday, marking the formalif not realend to the longest war in American history.

American warplanes began bombing the country on Oct. 7, 2001, less than a month after the 9/11 attacks. Their goal was to drive the ruling Taliban from power, after they had given sanctuary inside the country to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, which had plotted the terror strikes.

That was accomplished on Nov. 13, 2001.

The U.S. and its allies have remained since then, trying to build up Afghan military and police forces sufficient to defend their country without outside help. Despite Sunday's bowing out, the U.S. will remain involved in Afghanistan's fight against the Taliban for years to come.

"In the wake of the Talibans 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 handoff to that largely U.S.-trained Afghan military. "The road before us remains challenging, but we will triumph," Campbell told a small gathering at ISAF headquarters.

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 statement. 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.

The new, slimmed-down allied mission, Campbell said, will be called Operation Resolute Support. Back in Washington, the Pentagon said its piece of the new mission will be called Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

"We will work with our allies and partners as part of NATO's Resolute Support mission to continue training, advising, and assisting Afghan security forces," outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said. "And we will continue our counterterrorism mission against the remnants of al Qaeda to ensure that Afghanistan is never again used to stage attacks against our homeland."

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U.S. Ends Its War in Afghanistan

International military forces formally ended their combat mission in Afghanistan on Sunday after more than 13 years even as deadly violence continued in parts of the country.

The U.S.-led coalition known as the International Security Assistance Force lowered its green and white flag at its Kabul headquarters at 2:22 p.m. in a small ceremony marking the transition to a smaller mission focused on training and counterterrorism.

In a statement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the 40-nation coalition was not walking away from Afghanistan when its combat mission officially expires Wednesday.

As we complete the international combat mission at the end of 2014, we open a new chapter in the relationship between NATO and Afghanistan, Stoltenberg said. The security of Afghanistan will be fully in the hands of the countrys 350,000 Afghan soldiers and police.

In reality, the conflict in Afghanistan is far from over and international troops will still be involved in fighting. More than 12,500 foreign troops, including some 10,800 U.S. service members, will remain in the country under a new mission, dubbed Resolute Support, and are expected to gradually withdraw by the end of 2016.

U.S. troops will still be authorized to conduct airstrikes and provide other limited combat support to Afghan forces under orders approved by President Obama to help fight a Taliban-led insurgency that has demonstrated its strength with a series of major attacks in recent weeks.

The new mission will consist of troops from 28 NATO allies and 14 partner nations.

In a statement issued Sunday, Obama said the Kabul ceremony "marks a milestone" for the U.S., adding that "the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion."

In thanking troops and their families for their sacrifiices, the president also warned that "Afghanistan remains a dangerous place, and the Afghan people and their security forces continue to make tremendous sacrifices in defense of their country."

Speaking in Kabul, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, President Ashraf Ghanis national security advisor, thanked the foreign troops for their service since December 2001, when the United Nations Security Council established the international coalition following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Some 3,500 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan, including 2,224 American service members, according to a tally by the Associated Press.

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Afghanistan: U.S.-led coalition formally ends 13-year combat mission

Afghan and International Security Assistance Force officials mark the end of the American-led coalition combat mission in Afghanistan. (Reuters)

KABUL The 13-year NATO combat mission in Afghanistan formally ended Sunday with a ceremonial retirement of its green flag and a pledge by top officials of the U.S.-led coalition to remain reliable partners in Afghanistans unfinished war against the Taliban and other militant groups.

Scores of Afghan and foreign officials gathered to witness the symbolic shift to a new, much smaller NATO assistance and training mission. The event was held in a basketball gym inside NATO headquarters here in the Afghan capital and accompanied by a brass band and a color guard.

Our commitment to Afghanistan endures.... We are not walking away, promised Gen. John F. Campbell, the U.S. commander of the outgoing International Security Assistance Force mission. He will lead the new NATO support mission, which technically begins at midnight Dec.31.

Campbell and other Western officials stressed that their chief function under the new mission, named Resolute Support, will be to advise, train and assist Afghan security forces. They said, however, that a separate non-NATO contingent of U.S. forces will participate in force protection, logistical support and counterterrorism activities.

The Taliban responded to the transition event with glee. In a lengthy statement issued Sunday night by a Taliban spokesman, the insurgent group gloated at the final departure of a haughty superpower that thought it had already won the war and that the Mujaheddin would never . . . think of putting up a fight.

Security is tight on the streets of Kabul ahead of a ceremony to mark the end of NATO combat missions in Afghanistan. (Reuters)

The statement said the NATO withdrawal was proof that the infidel powers who thought they would turn Afghanistan into their strategic colony had been pushed to the brink of defeat.

The total number of international troops here, which peaked in 2009 at about 142,000, has gradually shrunk to about 17,000. Under Resolute Support, officials said, 12,500 to 13,500 NATO forces will remain in 2015, including about 5,000 American troops. Twenty-eight NATO allies and 14 partner nations will contribute in different ways, the alliance said. Officials said about 5,500 U.S. forces will be part of the second contingent, which will be based in Kabul.

Western and Afghan officials at the event described the shift in upbeat terms. They praised the dedication and bravery of Afghan security forces, now numbering about 350,000, and predicted that the Afghans will continue to wage a strong fight on their own against Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents.

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NATO flag lowered in Afghanistan as combat mission ends

President Obama addressed American troops in Hawaii on Christmas, a week before the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan ends. (Reuters)

HONOLULU President Obama marked the end of the U.S. military's combat mission in Afghanistan on Sunday, saying that 13 years after the war began it is coming to a "responsible conclusion" as American forces draw down to a minimal presence in that country.

Obama acknowledged in a written statement that Afghanistan remains "a dangerous place" and that the 10,800 U.S. personnel who will remain mostly in an advisory and training role will continue to face risks.

But in thanking the troops, intelligence officers and diplomatic officials for their service, Obama said that the United States is safer and more secure and that Afghanistan will take the lead in ensuring its own security.

"We honor the profound sacrifices that have made this progress possible," said Obama, who delivered a similar message last week on a Christmas visit to speak with troops at a U.S. Marine base on Oahu, where he is on vacation. "We salute every American military and civilian, including our dedicated diplomats and development workers who have served in Afghanistan, many on multiple tours, just as their families have sacrificed at home."

Obama's statement came hours after the United States and NATO held a ceremony in Kabul to mark the end of the combat mission. The president, who took office on a pledge to end the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he had largely done so, despite authorizing American airstrikes on the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria.

"These past 13 years have tested our nation and our military," he said. "But compared to the nearly 180,000 American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan when I took office, we now have fewer than 15,000 in those countries. Some 90 percent of our troops are home."

Although Kabul has experienced an increase in violence in recent months, Obama emphasized the progress made in fighting terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, including killing Osama bin Laden and killing and capturing other al-Qaeda leaders.

He also vowed to take care of veterans, promising them "the world-class care and treatment they have earned."

Most of all, Obama said, "we remember the more than 2,200 American patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan, and we pledge to stand with their Gold Star families, who need the everlasting love and support of a grateful nation."

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Obama: Afghanistan war coming to responsible conclusion

At the end of President Obama's sixth year in office, the commander in chief who once vowed to end America's longest period of war still maintains thousands of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts that refuse to conform to neat White House timetables.

The end of this year marks an end to the official combat role for the U.S. in Afghanistan. As 2015 dawns, U.S. troops transition to a training and support role, even as the Taliban is increasing its attacks. And in Iraq, more U.S. troops will be on the way to a war that was supposed to be over, at least as far as the U.S. goes.

Obama long ago recognized, at least privately, that in seeking to extricate American troops from wars abroad, he was not ending those conflicts, only America's involvement in them. But even that goal has proved stubbornly elusive.

Here's a primer on what lies ahead in 2015 for the Pentagon in both places:

Hasn't Obama succeeded in shrinking the U.S. military presence?

Yes. In Afghanistan, the U.S. has carried out a major withdrawal over the last two years, shrinking its troop presence from about 100,000 at the height of the war to 10,800 today. That's the level authorized by the White House through early next spring, when it is due to drop again, to 9,800. All U.S. troops are due to leave by the end of 2016, except a small contingent attached to the U.S. Embassy.

But Iraq has shown how hard it is to follow such timetables. The U.S. pulled all its troops out in December 2011. But last August, Obama announced plans to send about 1,500 troops back when Islamic State militants swept in from Syria and took control of large parts of the country. Obama recently decided to roughly double the U.S. troop level to 3,100. Thousands more are supporting the effort from bases in the region.

What are the troops doing?

A mix of missions. In Afghanistan, they work with military advisors from other countries to help train Afghan security forces, especially the nation's still primitive air force. The goal is to professionalize a force that has shown a capability to fight but remains far from capable of sustaining itself over the long term. Most U.S. troops work at large bases in the country's east and south, not at combat outposts.

Despite White House insistence that the U.S. combat role is over, the troops could be forced to help defend the bases from insurgent attacks. About 4,000 special operations troops will continue to carry out raids against the remnants of Al Qaeda and their supporters. And U.S. forces will have authority to assist the Afghan military with airstrikes, supplies and even ground forces if it is in danger of a major defeat by insurgents.

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What lies ahead for U.S. military in Afghanistan, Iraq