Auto news on Youtube Feb 2 2018

"Good afternoon.

On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes

against Al Qaeda terrorist training camps

and military installations of the Taliban

regime in Afghanistan."

That was the start of the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

"We need the freedom to operate on the ground and in the air."

It's now America's longest war — almost 6,000 days long, in fact.

Yet few battles or notable events from Afghanistan

have taken root in America's collective memory.

And that means fewer signposts to mark

the long passage of time.

But if we look at how long it took to reach

seminal moments in other wars,

it might bring America's 16-plus-year presence in Afghanistan

into clear view.

We'll start with the Battle of Gettysburg.

This bar represents the number of days the U.S. has

been fighting in Afghanistan.

The fighting at Gettysburg began 811 days into the Civil War.

Many consider this the most important battle

of the conflict.

And it took place after half the war was fought.

Now apply it to Afghanistan time.

It would bring us to just Dec. 27, 2003.

There were about 13,000 American troops in Afghanistan back then.

That number would eventually peak at 100,000.

"In England, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his deputy commanders

chart the liberation of a lost continent."

Then there's the Allied D-Day invasion at Normandy.

One of the most iconic moments of World War II.

The culmination of extensive planning in years

of fighting in Northern Africa, Italy and elsewhere.

That invasion began 913 days after America entered the war.

In Afghanistan time,

that brings us to just April 4, 2004.

Hamid Karzai hadn't even been elected as president

of Afghanistan yet.

And when World War II neared its end

with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, that

came after 1,339 days of battle. In Afghanistan time,

that would reach to June 2005.

Not even a quarter of the way through.

Vietnam was America's second-longest war.

And the final pivotal moment was the fall

of Saigon in April 1975. That occurred 3,706 days

after U.S. Marines landed in Da Nang in 1965.

And in a final comparison to Afghanistan time,

that would bring us to Nov. 30, 2011.

Osama bin Laden was killed about six months earlier.

And President Obama had already announced plans

to completely withdraw U.S. troops.

He would later reverse that decision.

The Obama and Trump administrations

would unveil new strategies – continuing the fight, which

goes on to this day.