In Ugly Lies the Bone, Jess has served two tours oversea in Afghanistan. After volunteering for a third tour, she is injured by an IED--an Improvised Explosive Device. Before we get to that, let's dive into this war Jess fought in.
Operation Enduring Freedom was a real combat mission over in Afghanistan which started in October 2001 in response to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. (the twin towers in New York, the Pentagon, and the attempt on the White House). The operation did not end until 2014, under President Barack Obama, making it the longest war in American history.
"We give thanks to our troops and intelligence personnel who have been relentless against the terrorists responsible for 9/11 - devastating the core al-Qaida leadership, delivering justice to Osama bin Laden, disrupting terrorist plots and saving countless American lives.
We are safer, and our nation is more secure, because of their service. At the same time, our courageous military and diplomatic personnel in Afghanistan - along with our NATO allies and coalition partners - have helped the Afghan people reclaim their communities, take the lead for their own security, hold historic elections and complete the first democratic transfer of power in their country's history.
We pledge to give our many wounded warriors, with wounds seen and unseen, the world-class care and treatment they have earned. Most of all, 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."
--President Barack Obama
As the United States assigned blame for the attacks on bin Laden and al Qaida, plans began to take the fight to al Qaida and its Taliban sponsors as the first phase of what became known as the Global War on Terror.
October 2001:
The U.S. military, with British support, begins a bombing campaign against Taliban forces, officially launching Operation Enduring Freedom. Australia, Canada, France, and Germany pledge future support. The war’s early phase [PDF] mainly involves U.S. air strikes on al-Qaeda and Taliban forces that are assisted by a partnership of about one thousand U.S. special forces, the Northern Alliance, and ethnic Pashtun anti-Taliban forces. The first wave of conventional ground forces arrives twelve days later. Most of the ground combat is between the Taliban and its Afghan opponents.
May 2003:
During a briefing with reporters in Kabul, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declares an end to “major combat.” The announcement coincides with President Bush’s “mission accomplished” declaration of an end to fighting in Iraq. Rumsfeld says President Bush, U.S. Central Command Chief Gen. Tommy Franks, and Afghan President Karzai “have concluded that we are at a point where we clearly have moved from major combat activity to a period of stability and stabilization and reconstruction and activities.” There are only eight thousand U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. The focus turns from Afghanistan to Iraq.
February 2009:
Newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama announces plans to send seventeen thousand more troops to the war zone. Obama reaffirms campaign statements that Afghanistan is the more important U.S. front against terrorist forces. He says the United States will stick to a timetable to draw down most combat forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. As of January 2009 the Pentagon has thirty-seven thousand troops in Afghanistan, roughly divided between U.S. and NATO commands. Reinforcements focus on countering a “resurgent” Taliban and stemming the flow of foreign fighters over the Afghan-Pakistan border in the south.
November 2010:
At a summit in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO member countries sign a declaration agreeing to hand over full responsibility for security in Afghanistan to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. The transition process is set to begin in July 2011, with local security forces taking over control in relatively stable provinces and cities. The initial handover is to coincide with the start of a drawdown in the one hundred thousand-strong contingent of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan.
May -- November 2011:
On May 1, 2011, following 10-year manhunt, U.S. Navy SEALs located and killed bin Laden in Pakistan. Obama released a plan to withdraw 33,000 U.S. troops by summer 2012, and all troops by 2014. NATO transitioned control to Afghan forces in June 2013, and Obama announced a new timeline for troop withdrawal in 2014.
May 2014:
President Obama announces a timetable for withdrawing most U.S. forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2016. The first phase of his plan calls for 9,800 U.S. troops to remain after the combat mission concludes at the end of 2014, limited to training Afghan forces and conducting operations against “the remnants of al-Qaeda.” Obama says the drawdown will free resources for counterterrorism priorities elsewhere.
During the war in Afghanistan, more than 3,500 allied soldiers were killed, including 2,448 American service members, with 20,000-plus Americans injured. After winning the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden planned the final withdrawal effort from Afghanistan starting in May of 2021. However, in August of 2021, the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government, causing the president (Ashraf Ghani) to flee to the UAE (United Arab Emerates). Therefore, even though Operation Enduring Freedom concluded in 2014, American troops are still on the ground in Afghanistan assisting in security and evacuation efforts.
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