Afghanistan has been plagued by increasingly deteriorating security conditions, widespread corruption, and a troubled economy since the Taliban regime was overthrown by the U.S. military soon after it invaded the country in response to the 9/11 attacks. The security situation has significantly worsened since President Barack Obama declared an end to the U.S. combat mission in December 2014, as he dramatically reduced the American military footprint in the country. America declared war on the Taliban for protecting and assisting al Qaeda in carrying out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. homeland. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and by December of that year, the Taliban government had been toppled. However, the focus was shifted from Afghanistan to Iraq until President Barack Obama took office. Obama, who has referred to Afghanistan as the “good war,” escalated the conflict soon after taking office in 2009. To his credit, the president recently changed his mind, granting the U.S. military greater authority to combat the resilient Taliban, in addition to the growing Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) branch in the region, and the so-called remnants of core al-Qaeda. His administration has been hesitant to publicly admit that the U.S. military has returned to a