FDLP Resource Guides: Military History: American Conflicts and Wars: Military Conflicts since 1975 (2024)

Overview
Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014)
Operation Freedom's Sentinel (2015–2021)

Click on the tabs of this box to learn more about OperationEnduring Freedom and Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

US Army (USA) CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilots from Bagram Air Base (AB), Afghanistan, fly over the mountains of Afghanistan, delivering supplies to several forward-deployed fire bases in remote areas of Afghanistan in 2003 (Image source:NAID: 6632557)

On September 11, 2001, nineteen menhijacked four planes and crashed them into the World Trade Centers in New York City, into the Pentagon nearWashington DC, and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.^ One week later, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution to "authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States."^^

^National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

Related U.S. Government publications:

	^^Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40) Date: September 18, 2001 Quoted excerpt: "Whereas, such acts render it both necessary and appropriate that the United States exercise its rights to self-defense and to protect United States citizens both at home and abroad."
	Address to the Nation Announcing Strikes Against Al Qaida Training Camps and Taliban Military Installations in Afghanistan Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II) Date: October 7, 2001 Quoted excerpt: "On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against Al Qaida terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime."
	H. Doc. 108-231 - Report on the Status of United States Effort in the Global War on Terrorism Communication from the President of the United States Date: November 16, 2004 Quoted excerpt: "Since September 24, 2001, I have reported, consistent with Public Law 107–40 and the War Powers Resolution, on the combat operations in Afghanistan against al-Qaida terrorists and their Taliban supporters, which began on October 7, 2001, and the deployment of various combat-equipped and combat-support forces to a number of locations in the Central, Pacific, and Southern Command areas of operation in support of those operations and of other operations in our global war on terrorism."
	Statement on the End of United States Combat Operations in Afghanistan Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Barack Obama (2014, Book II) Date: December 28, 2014 Quoted except: "Today’s ceremony in Kabul marks a milestone for our country. For more than 13 years, ever since nearly 3,000 innocent lives were taken from us on 9/11, our Nation has been at war in Afghanistan. Now, thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion."

For additional information:

	Global War on Terror George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum View digitized presidential records and resources about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
	Operation Enduring Freedom Naval History and Heritage Command See a chronology, additional resources, and selected imagery.
	Operation Enduring Freedom, Full-Text Citations United States Army Medal of Honor Read the stories about the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
	Public Health: Operation Enduring Freedom Exposures U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Find information about exposure to "environmental and chemical hazards that carried potential health risks" and how to document them.

See Also

Table of History's Most Deadly Events

Operation Freedom's Sentinel "began on January 1, 2015, when the United States formally ended its combat mission, Operation Enduring Freedom, and joined with other nations as part of the NATO Resolute Support Mission."^

Related U.S. Government publications:

	Serial No. 114-131 (House Hearing) - Assessing the President's Strategy in Afghanistan House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Date: December 2, 2015 Quoted excerpt: "It took a resurgent Taliban seizing control of Kunduz for President Obama to adjust his strategy, announcing a halt to the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. It was an acknowledgement that the strategy of gradual withdraw was not in line with the reality on the ground."
	U.S. Military Withdrawal and Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan: Frequently Asked Questions Congressional Research Service Date: September 17, 2021 Quoted excerpt: "The fall of the elected Afghan government, which had been supported by billions of dollars in U.S. assistance over the course of nearly two decades, raises significant questions about past, present, and future U.S. policy for Members of Congress."
	Serial No. 117-73 (House Hearing) - Afghanistan 2001-2021: Evaluating the Withdrawal and U.S. Policies Part 1 House Committee on Foreign Affairs Date: September 21, 2021 Quoted except: "We meet today to evaluate the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and the series of policies from the past 20 years that led to the events of August 2021."
	^Operation Freedom's Sentinel/Operation Enduring Sentinel Quarterly Lead Inspector General Report to Congress (October 1, 2021–December 31, 2021) Lead Inspector General Report to the United States Congress Date:February 15, 2022 Quoted excerpt: "This quarterly report describes the activities of the U.S. Government in support of OFS and OES, as well as the work of the DoD, the Department of State (DoS), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to promote the U.S. Government’s policy goals in Afghanistan, during the period of October 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021."