A year after the administration ended combat operations in Afghanistan, the White House and the Pentagon have quietly given the OK for American commanders to authorize air strikes on the Taliban and to allow joint combat operations with the Afghan army for the 9,800 U.S. troops deployed there. If it looks like war, sounds like war, smells like war...it's war. Washington Times: The changes were based on the findings of a three-month review of the situation in Afghanistan, which was overseen by Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander there, and submitted to Pentagon and White House officials this month. Before the changes made at Gen. Nicholson’s behest, American air power was authorized only when U.S. forces were under direct threat and American combat missions in the country were limited to special operations teams. The shift in the White House strategy was a clear recognition that “what is on the ground right now just isn’t...(Read Full Post)