In late 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan with the intention of destroying
al-Qaida, removing the Taliban from power, and remaking the country as a response of the 9/11
attacks. After the 20 years of struggles with the longest combat operation, however, the U.S
decided to end the war and completed its troop withdrawal from the country late August this year,
marking an end after the two decades conflicts. Nevertheless, as the longest military operation,
this war alone has consequently led to such a greater loss toward the countries even causing
fatalities in which nearly 250,000 people have been killed in the war zone since 2001,
and more than 71,000 of those are civilians according to the data quoted by Watson Institute.
Not to mention severe destruction of public properties, facilities and other infrastructures.
Noticing these facts probably lead us questioning of “how much this war has actually cost the U.S?”
Hello everyone, you are watching another episode of Military TV,
in today’s session we will take a look at the U.S military expenditure in Afghanistan.
For more details, stay tuned and watch this video till the end.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban fighters enter the Afghanistan capital Kabul,
with the 300,000 Afghan army. As the president fled to Tajikistan,
Ashraf Ghani admitted in a statement that the Taliban had won "with the judgment of their
swords and guns," and that they were now responsible for their countrymen's honour,
property, and self-preservation. While thousands of residents waiting for the evacuation,
Taliban fighters’ parade triumphantly in U.S captured tanks and Humvees left by America.
Unfortunately, this long war has caused so much loss in terms of blood, dollars and time.
Precisely, the answer on the budget calculation has been estimated by the officials highlighted
in the president’s remarks that it has spent more than $2 trillion in the 20 years since
September 11, 2001. That is indeed $300 million a day, every day, for the two decades. Conversely,
each of Afghanistan's 40 million residents would receive $50,000. In simpler words,
America has spent more to keep the Taliban at away than that of the combined net worth of Jeff Bezos,
Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and America's 30 wealthiest billionaires as added by Forbes.
For this reason, president refused to send another generation of America’s
sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago.
Based on the data from Brown University, the costs for the war in Afghanistan reached to
$2.313 trillion in total. It can be seen in the following figures,
The US has spent $2.313 trillion on the war in Afghanistan since 2001, which includes operations
in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Note that this figure excludes cash that the US government is
obligated to spend on long-term care for American war veterans, as well as future interest payments
on money borrowed to support the war. The $2.313 trillion spent on Afghanistan is a minor part of
the entire cost of the post-9/11 wars, which is believed to be in the trillions of dollars.
Inevitably, the current wars are basically funded by loans. This borrowing increased
the US budget deficit, the national debt, and had other macroeconomic consequences, such as
higher consumer interest rates. There will be future interest payments unless the US repays the
money borrowed for the war immediately. Interest payments might reach $6.5 trillion by the 2050s,
according to Brown University estimates. In conclusion, the post-9/11 operations
have cost billions of dollars in state, municipal, and private budgets,
including dollars spent on assistance for returning soldiers and their families,
as well as local homeland security initiatives. For the information, the initiation of this
budget calculation has no partial interest to any parties as the data obtain from accurate sources.
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