December 29, 2014

NATO commanders yesterday formally ended the Afghanistan War during a brief ceremony in the Afghan capital, Kabul. At NATO mission headquarters in the city, the green-and-white flag of the United States-led coalition, known as the International Security Assistance Force, was ceremonially rolled up and sheathed. Then the flag of the new international mission, called Resolute Support, was raised. The ceremony marked the official end of a 13-year combat mission in Afghanistan. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, U.S.-led forces in the country will offer only training and support for the Afghan army.

A NATO coalition invaded Afghanistan in 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. The intention behind the invasion was to crush the terrorist organization behind the attacks–al-Qa’ida–and to capture its leader–Osama bin Laden. NATO forces quickly brought down Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled government, which had sheltered al-Qa’ida. However, much of the al-Qa’ida organization escaped into other countries, particularly across the border into Pakistan. (American military forces finally tracked down and killed bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.)

American troops patrol a village along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. After the U.S. military overthrew the Taliban, some members of the Taliban and al-Qa`ida fled to the mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. (Department of Defense)

In a prepared statement, President Barack Obama said, “Today’s ceremony in Kabul marks a milestone for our country. 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. 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 president also paid tribute to the more-than 2,200 Americans killed in the war.

Despite the war, the Taliban continues to launch offensives and carry out terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan remains a dangerous place,” the president said in his statement, “and the Afghan people and their security forces continue to make tremendous sacrifices in defense of their country.

Additional World Book articles:

• Terrorism: America’s New Enemy (a special report)

August 29, 2014

This morning, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen charged Russia with a “blatant violation” of Ukrainian sovereignty. The statement was given by Rasmussen at a news conference held after an emergency meeting of NATO envoys. The meeting, held in Brussels, was called to discuss the deepening military crisis created by Russian military intervention on the side of pro-Russian separatists in southeastern Ukraine.

Novoazovsk lies on the Sea of Azov, east of Mariupol, at the southeastern tip of Ukraine (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

According to multiple news services, a combined force of Russian and separatist troops seized the coastal town of Novoazovsk yesterday, opening a new southern front. Leaders from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and other European countries expressed outrage at the reports and demanded an explanation from Russia. The new front relieves pressure on the separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk farther north. In recent weeks, the Ukrainian military, supported by its Western allies, had made progress in ousting pro-Russian forces from those cities and surrounding areas. Novoazovsk, a port city on the Sea of Azov, lies on the southeastern tip of Ukraine along the border with Russia. The city sits along a road linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in March.

NATO Brigadier General Niko Tak yesterday told the BBC that there had been a “significant escalation in the level and sophistication of Russia’s military interference in Ukraine” over the past two weeks.” Tak said NATO had detected “large quantities of advanced weapons, including air defence systems, artillery, tanks, and armoured personnel carriers being transferred to separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. To back up its claims, NATO produced satellite images with a news release, explaining, “The images, captured in late August, depict Russian self-propelled artillery units moving in a convoy through the Ukrainian countryside and then preparing for action by establishing firing positions in the area of Krasnodon, Ukraine… .”

Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk, stated this morning that the nation was revisiting it’s decision on joining NATO. Yatsenyuk was sending a bill to parliament requesting that Ukraine’s non-aligned status be cancelled, which would allow the country to join the Western military alliance.

June 4, 2014

Speaking in Warsaw at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of Poland’s democratic government, President Barack Obama sought to reassure Poland and Eastern European nations that have grown anxious about their national security since Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The event, Freedom Day, celebrated Poland’s first Western-style elections—held on June 4, 1989—in which the Solidarity movement defeated the Communist government that had formed in Poland in the late 1940′s. After the 1989 elections, Poland went on to become an economic and political success story, joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999 and the European Union (EU) in 2004.

A political rally held in Poland during the 1989 elections showed support for the Solidarity movement (© Filip Horvat, SABA).

Russia’s takeover of the Crimean Peninsula in April 2014 created anxiety throughout central and eastern Europe. Some former Soviet nations worried that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to re-create the Soviet empire. Yesterday, President Obama announced a $1-billion program to bolster the presence of the U.S. military in Poland and its neighbors. The program includes providing military aid to such non-NATO nations as Georgia and Ukraine.

Speaking in Castle Square, President Obama gave a strong promise of military support, saying, “I know that throughout history, the Polish people were abandoned by friends when you needed them most.  So I’ve come to Warsaw today—on behalf of the United States, on behalf of the NATO Alliance—to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Poland’s security . . . . We stand together—now and forever—for your freedom is ours.”

April 16, 2014

NATO announced today that it is reinforcing its defenses in the Baltic States and central Europe. In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated that in the face of the current crisis in Ukraine, NATO is putting “more planes in the air, mores ships on the water, more readiness on the land.” The announcement came as Ukraine forces are moving into eastern Ukraine to retake control of the region and as Russia has massed 40,000 troops along its border with Ukraine.

Secretary Rasmussen called on Russia to make clear it did not “support the violent actions of well-armed militias or pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.” In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by telephoning  United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Putin demanded “clear condemnation from the United Nations and the international community of the anti-constitutional actions” taken by the interim Ukrainian government by launching a military campaign against pro-Russian separatists in the east.”

For additional information on the Ukrainian crisis, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book article:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)

June 18, 2013

NATO forces in Afghanistan today handed over responsibility for security for the whole country to Afghan troops for the first time since NATO forces invaded the country in 2001. At a ceremony in Kabul, the capital, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that “our own security and military forces will lead all the security activities.” There are currently 350,000 Afghans in uniform. NATO troops will remain in Afghanistan through 2014, providing military back-up when needed.

In Doha, capital of Qatar, a Taliban spokesperson, Mohammed Naim, declared today in a televised speech that the Taliban is prepared to take the first step toward peace negotiations with the Afghan government. The Taliban, a militant Islamic group that was once aligned with Al-Qa`ida, has tried for decades to establish a united Islamic state in Afghanistan.  Naim noted that their political and military goals “are limited to Afghanistan” and that they did not wish to “harm other countries.”

The Taliban has spent much of the past 12 years hiding in the rugged terrain along the Afghan-Pakistan border, from which they organized military raids into Afghanistan. © Piers Benatar, Panos Pictures

The Taliban announcement is the first indication that the chief antagonists in the Afghanistan War are interested in ending the 12-year conflict. NATO forces, led by the United States military, entered Afghanistan to rout Al-Qa`ida, the terrorist organization that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. NATO ended up fighting the Taliban. The Taliban, which had gained control of most of Afghanistan in the mid-1990′s, had allowed Osama Bin Laden to establish his Al-Qa`ida headquarters and terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. Driven from power in 2001, the Taliban has been battling NATO forces ever since.

Additional World Book articles:

• Afghanistan 2001 (a Back in Time article)
• Terrorism: America’s New Enemy (a special report)

December 4, 2012

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued a warning today to the government of Syria not to use chemical weapons against its own people: “If anybody resorts to these terrible weapons, then I would expect an immediate reaction from the international community,” he declared. His warning came on the heals of a similar declaration yesterday by U.S. President Barack Obama: “The world is watching. The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable,” noted the president in a speech at the National Defense University. NATO foreign ministers, meeting today in Brussels, are expected to approve the deployment of Patriot antimissile batteries to Turkey, a move designed to defend Turkey’s border with Syria.

NATO foreign ministers are expected to approve a plan to station Patriot antimissile batteries in Turkey. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

Syrian government forces continue to bombard the southern suburbs of Damascus with artillery and airstrikes in an offensive designed to seal off the city and maintain control of the international airport. Rebels have gained control of strategic military bases and arsenals, giving them access to ground-to-air missiles that has forced the government to periodically shut down the airport. The head of the Arab League, Nabil al-Araby, has stated that he believes the government of Bashar al-Assad could fall at any time, and the United Nations announced today that it is withdrawing all nonessential staff from Syria.

Additional World Book articles:

• Arab Spring
• Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a Special Report)
• Syria 2011 (a Back in Time article)

May 22, 2012

An historic plan for winding down NATO combat operations in Afghanistan was approved on May 21 by leaders of the 28-member military bloc meeting in Chicago. The plan, advanced by United States President Barack Obama, maps out an “irreversible” transition under which Afghan forces are to take control of all security operations in their country during 2013 and most NATO forces are to withdraw by the end of 2014. After 2014, any remaining NATO personnel will serve only in  training, advisory, or assistance roles. The pact marks a major milestone in the Afghanistan War, which began in 2001 in response to attacks on the United States by al-Qa`ida. At that time, al-Qa`ida was based in Afghanistan, which was controlled by the Taliban, a militant Islamic group.

Questions about long-term funding for Afghan security forces remain unresolved. The United States is pressing its allies to contribute at least $1.3 billion of the $4 billion needed annually to support a replacement army of 230,000 Afghans. However, the current European Union economic crisis is constraining Europe’s ability–and willingness–to contribute funds to sustain both the Afghan military and NATO security backup. Newly elected French President Francois Hollande said France would not contribute additional funds to compensate for the early withdrawal of its troops by the end of 2012, two years earlier than originally planned.

Afghans cheered the arrival of Northern Alliance rebel troops in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, on Nov. 13, 2001. Northern Alliance and United States military forces drove the oppressive Taliban regime out of the city. (Koji Harada, Kyodo News International)

Military and political leaders at the summit expressed concerns about the ability of an independent Afghan military to resist the Taliban, which President Obama admitted remains a “robust enemy.” An advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron also commented on the risk that al-Qa`ida could replace NATO troops in regions where the Afghan government has little control.

Additional World Book articles:

• Afghanistan 2001 (a Back in Time article)
• Afghanistan 2002 (a Back in Time article)
• Crisis in the Eurozone (a special report)

May 18, 2012

Leaders of the 28 member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other officials from around the world are gathering in Chicago for three days of talks. NATO is a military alliance that seeks to protect the freedom and security of its member countries through political and military efforts.

The primary topic of discussion at the Chicago summit will likely be the alliance’s long-term role in Afghanistan. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, NATO announced that it considered the attacks against the United States as attacks against all NATO members. A number of NATO member nations subsequently provided assistance in a U.S.-led military campaign against terrorist targets in Afghanistan. In 2006, NATO assumed command from the United States of the international peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. U.S. President Barack Obama has stated that he intends to withdraw most NATO-led American forces from Afghanistan by 2014.

The flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 

At the end of the Chicago summit, an official communique–or statement endorsed by each of the member states–will define what alliance members agreed to during the meetings. International affairs experts suggest that the communique will outline in broad term the role the United States and Western power will play in Afghanistan over the next two years and beyond. Afghan forces are expected to assume the lead in all combat missions in 2013, with U.S. and NATO forces serving as backup only. It remains unclear how the United States and its European allies will fund the Afghan initiative over the next decade. Experts predict that the current European Union economic crisis will limit Europe’s ability–and willingness–to annually contribute billions of euros to sustain both the Afghan military and NATO backup forces.

Additional World Book articles:

• Afghanistan War
• Al-Qa`ida
• Taliban
• Afghanistan 2001 (a Back in Time article)
• Afghanistan 2002 (a Back in Time article)
• Crisis in the Eurozone (a special report)

May 2, 2012

President Barack Obama, addressing the American public from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on May 1, pledged to “finish the job” and end the Afghan War. He noted, however, that the United States would not “cut and run” from Afghanistan and would meet long-term Afghan financial and security needs. He stated that at the forthcoming NATO summit in Chicago the alliance would “set a goal for Afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations across the country next year. . . . I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security. But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly.”

Earlier in the day, President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed an agreement broadly outlining the U.S. role in Afghanistan after the combat mission ends, currently scheduled for 2014. The United States went to war in Afghanistan nearly 11 years ago, following the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The aim was to root out al-Qa`ida militants based in Afghanistan and track down the terrorist organization’s leaders who had planned the attacks.

President Barack Obama of the United States (The White House)

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan (AP/Wide World)

There are currently more than 130,000 troops from 50 countries serving in Afghanistan under NATO command: 90,000 from the United States; 9,500 from the United Kingdom; 4,800 from Germany; and 3,600 from France. At least 2,700 troops from the United States and its partners have died in the war, the majority of them Americans.

Additional World Book articles:

• Osama bin Laden
• Taliban
• Afghanistan 2001 (a Back in Time article)
• Afghanistan 2002 (a Back in Time article)
• Afghanistan 2008 (a Back in Time article)
• Afghanistan 2009 (a Back in Time article)
• Afghanistan 2010 (a Back in Time article)
• Afghanistan 2011 (a Back in Time article)

A raging battle between Libyan rebels and troops loyal to Libyan leader  Mu’ammar Qadhafi ended with the fall to rebel forces of the Qadhafi’s compound in Tripoli, the capital. Pockets of resistance remained, however. Fierce fighting was still going on in isolated areas of Tripoli and in the border city of Zuwarah, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) to the west. NATO spokesperson Roland Lavoie, speaking at a news conference in Naples, Italy,  noted, “Our mission is not over yet. . . . The situation in Tripoli is still very serious and very dangerous.” He added that neither NATO nor Libyan rebel forces knew Qadhafi’s whereabouts.

Libyan rebels launched their assault on Tripoli in the night on August 21 and advanced into the heart of the city with little opposition. They quickly took command of Green Square, the symbol of Libyan leader Mu’ammar Qadhafi’s power, and renamed it Martyr’s Square. Jubilant rebel supporters tore down Qadhafi’s all green flags and defaced and trampled his portraits, heralding an end to his nearly 42-year rule. On August 22,  rebel commanders claimed to have taken control of about 80 percent of the capital. However, they remained engaged in a raging battle outside Qadhafi’s compound, fighting against a tank corp defending the walled enclave (an area existing apart from a larger surrounding area).

On the diplomatic front, President Barack Obama of the United States issued a statement on August 21 noting that Qadhafi “needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya.” British Prime Minister David Cameron stated that Qadhafi has “committed appalling crimes against the people of Libya and he must go now to avoid any further suffering for his own people.” In Cairo, the government of Egypt recognized the rebels as the legitimate government of Libya on August 22. At the United Nations in New York City, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon announced that he was organizing a meeting with members of the African Union and the Arab League to help smooth the transition to a new government.