Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has announced the last of the more than 30,000 troops that entered Afghanistan following President Obama’s orders for a surge in 2009 have now left the country. Panetta claimed the surge had accomplished its mission of curbing the Taliban’s momentum and bolstering Afghan security forces. Nearly 70,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan amidst ongoing violence there, including an uptick in so-called green-on-blue attacks by Afghan forces against foreign troops.