Operation Enduring Freedom

In Operation Enduring Freedom, May 2005–January 2009, authors Brian F. Neumann and Colin J. Williams show how the United States Army balanced its ongoing commitment to combating terrorist and insurgent activity in post-Taliban Afghanistan with the expanding American war in Iraq. They tell how the Bush administration relegated Afghanistan to an economy-of-force effort and sought to transition responsibility for supporting the fledgling Afghan government to an international coalition. They also describe how a growing insurgency against coalition forces and the Afghan government threatened to derail these efforts. It resulted in a three-year period defined by minimizing American commitment and achieving unity of effort among the coalition partners.