A day-to-Day Chronicle of Afghanistan's Guerrilla and Civil War, June 2003 – Present

A Day-to-Day Chronicle of Afghanistan's Guerrilla and Civil War, June 2003 – Present^©

Memories of Vietnam? A Chinook helicopter extracts troops of the 10th Mountain Division in Nov. 2003 in Kunar province (photo by Sgt. Greg Heath, 4th Public Affairs Dept., Nov. 2003).

Vietnam epiphany. U.S. troops on patrol in the Afghan countryside, April 2003 [photo in World News Network 5/2/03]. For more on parallels with Vietnam, see Ian Mather, "Soldiers Fear 'Afghan Vietnam'," The Scotsman [May 4, 2003]

A new file was begun after May 31, 2003 for two reasons: (1). during May, Secretary Rumsfeld announced the end of major U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan; and (2) in June, Mullah Omar announced a new 10-man leadership council of the Taliban and urged an increased guerrilla warfare. The new data set better captures the extent of this civil and guerrilla conflict.
"...we're at a point where we clearly have moved from major combat activity to a period of stability and stabilization and reconstruction activities...."

Spoken by Secretary Rumsfeld in Kabul on May 1, 2003

True or False?



On August 22, 2002, the U.S. 82nd Airborne carried out another helicopter assault in Paktia province as part of a week-long campaign, 'Operation Mountain Sweep.'