President Obama has quietly authorized combat operations for the American military in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 deadline.  They will likely participate in operations known as "night raids," which were discontinued two years ago because they were so controversial. New York Times: The government of the new Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, has quietly lifted the ban on night raids by special forces troops that his predecessor had imposed. Afghan National Army Special Forces units are planning to resume the raids in 2015, and in some cases the raids will include members of American Special Operations units in an advisory role, according to Afghan military officials as well as officials with the American-led military coalition. That news comes after published accounts of an order by President Obama to allow the American military to continue some limited combat operations in 2015. That order allows for the sort of air support necessary for successful night...(Read Full Post)