5 harsh truths about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

BY SIEFFK May 29

A soldier interacts with an Afghan boy in a northeast Arghandab valley village in Khevejeh Molk, Afghanistan on September 24, 2010. (Photo by Karin Brulliard/The Washington Post)

With this week's news that U.S. military will scale down its operations in Afghanistan and eventually withdraw in 2016, a lot of people are wondering what this will actually mean. Here, The Post's Kabul bureau chief Kevin Sieff spells out five things you need to know.

1. This might be the Afghan military's war now – but only because 140,000 Western troops failed to defeat the Taliban.

5 Harsh Truths About the U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan by nelvely