A line of deaths and an open wound: what numbers does the war in Afghanistan leave behind? | the Chronicle

The war in Afghanistan that dates back to 2001 not only killed tens of thousands of people over the years, but also generated debt. that the next generations of Americans will have to pay

The United States combat mission which ends in Kabul after 20 years it was the longest war in the country. Civilians tended to forget about it, and it received much less scrutiny from the US Congress than the Vietnam War, according to a report by the AP News Agency.

The after-effects are more than painful: tens of thousands of deaths, the vast majority of them Afghans. And on the other hand, a millionaire’s debt: with the United States borrowing nearly all the funds to finance it, generations of Americans will be burdened with paying down debt, analysts say.

Figures from a 20 years war

The details below were provided by Linda Bilmes of the Kennedy School of Political Science at Harvard University and the Brown University Costs of War Project.

As between 2003 and 2011, the United States fought simultaneously in Afghanistan and Iraq, some of these numbers cover both conflicts.

• One in four Americans was born after the 2001 attacks Launched by the leaders of Al-Qaeda who took refuge in Afghanistan.
• Since the start of the war, 2,448 American soldiers, 3,846 American contractors, 66,000 Afghan military and police, 1,145 members of the Allied forces, including NATO and other member states, 47,245 Afghan civilians, 51,191 Taliban and other armed groups, 444 aid workers died. and 72 journalists.
• Percentage decline in child mortality since the United States, Afghans and other allied forces overthrew the Taliban government: about 50%.
• Literacy: Currently, 37% of Afghan adolescent girls can read.
• Control of Congress: On September 18, 2001, authorized US forces to prosecute those responsible for the September 11 attack.
• Number of times U.S. lawmakers have voted to declare war on Afghanistan: 0.
• Number of times lawmakers on the Defense Subcommittee Budget allocations focused on the costs of the Vietnam War during the conflict: 42.
• Number of times legislators on the same subcommittee they mentioned the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq until mid-summer 2021: 5.
• Number of times the Senate Finance Committee has raised the costs of the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq from September 11, 2001 to mid-summer 2021: 1.

The economic losses of the war in Afghanistan

In addition to the loss of life, the war in Afghanistan has left a number of worrying signs for the future of the US economy. According to AP’s analysis, the most resounding comparisons to other past conflicts are:

• Percentage that the president Harry truman temporarily increased tax rates to pay for Korean War: 92%.
• Percentage that the president Lyndon johnson temporary increase in tax rates to pay for the Vietnam War: 77%.
• Percentage that the president George W. Bush reduced tax rates for the richest, instead of increasing them, at the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iran: at least 8%.
• Estimated cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that the United States funded with loans until 2020: $ 2,000 billion.
• Estimated interest for 2050: Above $ 6.5 trillion.
• Amount that the United States agreed to pay in medical care, disability, burial and other costs for thee 4 million veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: more than 2,000 billion dollars.
• Schedule for increasing these costs: after 2048.