Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:
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Dec. 30
The Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle on Afghanistan:
A flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul this past weekend signaled the official end of Operation Enduring Freedom - America's 13-year war on terror in Afghanistan.
But the reality is that the war is not over, and Americans shouldn't act like it is.
Though al-Qaida, the architects of the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist plots, has been partly dismantled and the Taliban is a shadow of its former self, extremism still has a foothold in the war-torn nation.
Barbarians hoping to keep the nation stuck in the Dark Ages already have been emboldened by America's drawdown. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid referred to the weekend flag-lowering event as a "defeat ceremony" and vowed the insurgents' fight would continue.