War

NATO to stay in Afghanistan for four more years - UPI.com
UPI reports: "NATO will stay in Afghanistan for four more years, a senior NATO official said this week. Despite plans by the United States to reduce its troop strength by the end of 2016, the 28 countries that are members of NATO will pledge $5 billion each at a July meeting in Warsaw to train, equip and pay Afghan troops and security forces [...] The proposed plan will offer President Barack Obama some flexibility when deciding U.S. troop strength in what has become the United States' longest war. The war began in October of 2001 with the U.S. invasion. NATO became involved in 2003."

Comment: There's such an incredible disconnect between a culture awash in trivial pursuits and distracted by endless entertainment and a military that's been at war since 2001. To the friends and family members of those who serve in Afghanistan (and other war zones) the war is all too real.