News
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 27, 2009 -- President Obama announces a new strategy, linking success in Afghanistan to a stable Pakistan. He said the goal is to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent its return to either country in the
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May 11, 2009 -- Defense Secretary Gates replaces the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, with General Stanley McChrystal. Gates said it was time for fresh thinking and fresh eyes on the war in Afghanistan.
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July 2009 -- U.S. Marines launch the first major offensive operation (Operation Khanjar, Strike of the Sword) under President Obama's revamped strategy to defeat an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency. Here, U.S. Marines walk at Camp Dwyer in Helmand
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June 23, 2010 -- President Obama accepts the resignation of his top commander in Afghanistan, General McChrystal, and names General David Petraeus to replace him.