Operation Enduring Freedom March 2002-April 2005

In Operation Enduring Freedom, March 2002-April 2005, authors Brian Neumann, Lisa Mundey, and Jon Mikolashek provide details on the critical role of the U.S. Army in the critical three-year period following the conclusion of Operation Anaconda in March 2002. They detail the story of American and international forces working to solidify the initial invasion's crippling of al-Qaeda and removal of the Taliban. They recount the quest to build a new, democratic Afghan government capable of maintaining internal security and tending to the needs of the Afghan people. They describe the U.S. Army's search for a proper balance between counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations as the enemy rebuilt his forces from safe havens in Pakistan. Finally, they chronicle the Army's efforts to maintain an effective presence in Afghanistan while juggling the challenges of an indigenous population historically opposed to foreign forces and the decreased resources available after the start of the Iraq war in 2003.