In Afghanistan on 28 December last year there was a large military ceremony in Kabul. It marked replacement of the US-NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat operation by a mission called Resolute Support. It was the most significant military-political event in the country since President George W. Bush ordered his military forces to attack Afghanistan on 7 October 2001.
The senior figure at the gathering was US Army General John F. Campbell, commander of all foreign forces in Afghanistan, who declared to those present that “we have lifted the Afghan people out of the darkness of despair and given them hope for the future. You’ve made Afghanistan stronger and our countries safer.”