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The war lasted 7,262 days. It cost the lives of 2,455 U.S. service members and tens of thousands of civilians. And the price tag to American taxpayers of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan? Around $2.3 trillion.
These are some of the findings released today by the Costs of War Project, an initiative that pulls together the work of more than 50 scholars to provide as full an account of the human, economic and political costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as possible.
Neta Crawford, a foreign policy expert at Boston University and a co-director of the project, writes that while the figures on their own “can never give a complete picture of what happened and what it means, they can help put the Afghanistan war in perspective.”
Although the U.S. military’s involvement in that conflict is now officially over, some of the numbers Crawford cites in her article will continue to rise. For example, veterans returning to America with physical or mental scars will continue to need government-funded medical support, perhaps for many years to come.
Also today:
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Matt Williams
Breaking News Editor
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Heading for the exit.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Neta C. Crawford, Boston University
Following the completion of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Neta Crawford, the co-director of the Costs of War Project, reflects on 7,268 days of American involvement in the conflict.
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Environment + Energy
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Nick Shay, University of Miami
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Ethics + Religion
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Kalpana Jain, The Conversation
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Samuel L. Boyd, University of Colorado Boulder
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Education
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Dustin Hornbeck, University of Texas Arlington
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Science + Technology
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Robert Schofield, University of Oregon
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Politics + Society
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Lena Surzhko Harned, Penn State
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to seek commitments from his US counterpart, pledging support in his country’s ongoing battle with the Russian Federation.
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Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington
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Matthew Fowle, University of Washington; Rachel Fyall, University of Washington
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Patricia A. O'Brien, Georgetown University
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Trending on Site
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Jack Singal, University of Richmond
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Margaret Hu, Penn State
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Christopher Robertson, Boston University; Wesley Oliver, Duquesne University
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Today’s graphic
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