Afghanistan: the numbers for the longest war America has ever seen

The war of Afghanistan not only left tens of thousands of dead in the field, but also a cost that the next generations will have to pay Americans.

End of US combat mission in Kabul after 20 years it was the longest war in the country. Civilians tended to forget about her, and she was under much less scrutiny by the U.S. Congress than the Vietnam War, according to a report by PA.

The consequences are painful: tens of thousands of deaths, the vast majority of them Afghans. And a millionaire’s debt: since the United States has borrowed almost all the funds to finance it, generations of Americans will be burdened with paying off their debts, according to analysts.

The figures of the war

This forgotten war left several points and questions. Here is some data provided by Linda Bilmes, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Political Science, and Brown University’s 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.

• The longest war: One in four Americans was born after the 2001 terrorist attacks launched by Al-Qaeda leaders who took refuge in Afghanistan.
• The human costSince 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 humanitarian workers and 72 journalists were killed.

• Percentage decline in child mortality since the United States, Afghans and other allied forces overthrew the Taliban government: About 50%.
• Percentage of Afghan adolescent girls who are currently able to read: 37%.
• Congress supervision: On September 18, 2001, it 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 legislators on the Defense Budget Subcommittee have addressed the costs of the Vietnam War during the conflict: 42.
• Number of times lawmakers on the same subcommittee mentioned the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq until mid-summer 2021: 5.
• Number of times the Senate Finance Committee mentioned the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from September 11, 2001 to mid-summer 2021: 1.

The costs of war

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 the analysis of PA, the most resounding comparisons to other conflicts in the past are:

• Percent that President Harry Truman Temporarily Raised Tax Rates to Pay for the Korean War: 92%.
• Percent that President Lyndon Johnson temporarily raised tax rates to pay for the Vietnam War: 77%.

• Percentage President George W. Bush cut tax rates for the richest, instead of raising 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 dollars.

• Estimated interest for 2050: Above $ 6.5 trillion.
• Amount the United States has pledged to pay for health care, disability, burials and other costs for the estimated 4 million veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: more than 2,000 billion dollars.
• When these costs increase: after 2048.