Like most soldiers who have served during wartime, Christmas is for me a time to reflect on the Christmases missed. On Christmas Eve 20 years ago, as a 30-year-old Civil Affairs captain, I arrived at the Malaysian camp in Livno, Bosnia to begin my six-month peacekeeping tour with the NATO Stabilization Force. Five years later, as major and a newly minted father, I celebrated Christmas at Chapman Airfield in Afghanistan’s Khost Province, along with soldiers who came almost literally out of the woodwork to partake in the hot meal prepared for us.

Two years after that, deployed again, I got lucky. I was the boss, but with a toddler and an infant at home, my soldiers conspired to make sure that my mid-tour leave was over the Christmas season.  Like any leader, I chose my leave dates last, but curiously, Christmas was open. For that I will always be grateful, as will my wife and children.

Finally, three years ago this week, President Obama boldly announced, “thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion.” He forgot the most important of Murphy’s Laws of Combat: “the enemy gets a vote.”

Today, not only is the war not over, the United States has intensified its campaign against the Taliban. This in not simply a function of a change of control in the White House. Had Hillary Clinton prevailed last fall, the war would still be in full swing. We might be prosecuting it differently, but there is simply no way around the fact that Afghanistan is not nearly ready to go it alone. It does not have the ability — the capacity in official parlance — to defend itself. The Taliban remains a threat to peace and stability in the country.

Why Afghanistan is Still America’s Problem

As long as the Taliban is a threat, Afghanistan remains America’s problem. The only reason we continue to fight there is because the lawless regions of southern Afghanistan were safe haven for the al Qaeda terrorists that launched the September 11 attacks. It really is that simple.

It is fair to question whether or not Afghanistan can ever truly be “stable.” After all, Pashtun areas like Khost and Pateka, where I spent so much time, have always been outside the control of Kabul. Afghan kings and presidents have had little to no control over the daily affairs of the Pashtun people for as long as there has been a state called Afghanistan.

But regardless of how much authority the central government is ever able to assert in those tribal areas, it is not unreasonable for the U.S. to insist that they not revert to the status quo ante bellum.

And so, sixteen years after the first American boots hit the ground, and fifteen years after my own boots did, the nation has approximately 15,000 service members in Afghanistan today. Thousands more are deployed in Syria, Somalia, Kuwait, Qatar, Niger, and other hotspots, taking the fight to the enemy.

To those at the pointy end of the American spear, I hope that your Christmas was merry, that your New Year will be happy, and that your guardian angel never drops his guard. We sleep soundly knowing that you rough men and women stand ready to bring violence on those who would do us harm. For that, this old soldier is grateful.

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Tom McCuin is a strategic communication consultant and retired Army Reserve Civil Affairs and Public Affairs officer whose career includes serving with the Malaysian Battle Group in Bosnia, two tours in Afghanistan, and three years in the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs in the Pentagon. When he’s not devouring political news, he enjoys sailboat racing and umpiring Little League games (except the ones his son plays in) in Alexandria, Va. Follow him on Twitter at @tommccuin