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Afghanistan, From Bombing to Drawdown
President Obama's announcement on the July start of U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan comes nearly a decade after the U.S.-led military operation began.
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March 2, 2002 – U.S. forces launch their biggest ground offensive yet, Operation Anaconda, against several hundred al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in mountainous eastern Afghanistan. Here, a US Army Ch-47 Chinook helicopter comes in to land as an Army Apac
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June, 2002 -- A grand council, known as a loya jirga, elects Hamid Karzai to lead Afghanistan’s transitional administration. The body will draft a new constitution and pave the way for elections in the next 18 months.
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November, 2002 – The U.S. army creates military-civilian units, called provincial reconstruction teams, or PRTs as part of stabilization efforts. PRTs were designed to help deliver basic services including security, health care and education.
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May 1, 2003 – U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declares an end to “major combat” in a briefing with reporters in Kabul. Eight thousand U.S. troops are stationed in Afghanistan at the time. Rumsfeld spoke as President Bush made a similar declaratio