By any other name....its still the same old war.

Yesterday I received this announcement by the military:

"At the end of this year, as our Afghan partners assume responsibility for the security of their country, the United States officially concludes Operation Enduring Freedom. Our combat mission in Afghanistan, which began in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, will come to an end. "

But just because we have ended "operation enduring freedom" does not mean that we have ended our invasion of Afghanistan.... the next paragraph of the military announcement stated this:

"In 2015, we begin our follow-on mission, Operation Freedom's Sentinel, to help secure and build upon the hard-fought gains of the last 13 years."

And just as a rose is a rose -  this war by any other name is still this war.

Happy New Year.