Bush's War in Afghanistan: A Case of Big Mission Creep?

Did the United States recently engage in an illegal act of war?

On February 19, "The New York Times" placed on its front page a story headlined, "In a Shift, U.S. Uses Airstrikes To Help Kabul." As reporter John Burns wrote, "American forces appear to have opened a new phase in the war in Afghanistan with two bombing raids over the weekend that Afghan commanders in the area said were aimed at clashing militia forces rather than the Taliban or Al Qaeda." The article noted that the U.S. Central Command had issued a statement declaring that U.S. aircraft had dropped precision-guided bombs when "enemy troops" struck forces loyal to the government of Hamid Karzai near Khost. The Pentagon said the pro-government forces had requested the U.S. airstrikes after being attacked by rival troops. Local Afghan commanders reported that the clash involved two tribal militias--but details were murky. Burns noted, "the bombing raids seemed to have placed the United States for the first time in a position of using American air power in defense of the [Karzai] government."