The war in Afghanistan is a war. It's not a police operation. The people were fighting are still fighting. Until such time as these people stop fighting and desire peace with us, we are still at war.
Now, it is possible to think that we aren't at war, but the problem with that idea, is that some people insist they are at war with us. They are so insistent with this stupid idea that they murder thousands of people.
Maybe, you think we should be more cold & mean spirited about this and not give these nutballs what they want. This a fine idea, but we are cowboys at heart, and we want to respect the wishes of even these hopelessly stupid twits.