Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Costs of the Afghanistan War, in Lives and Dollars
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
August 18, 2021

Share

At just short of 20 years, the now-ending U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan was America’s longest war. Ordinary Americans tended to forget about it, and it received measurably less oversight from Congress than the Vietnam War did. But its death toll is in the many tens of thousands. And because the U.S. borrowed most of the money to pay for it, generations of Americans will be burdened by the cost of paying it off.

Here’s a look at the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, by the numbers, as the Taliban in a lightning offensive take over much of the country before the United States’ Aug. 31 deadline for ending its combat role and as the U.S. speeds up American and Afghan evacuations.

Much of the data below is from Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s Kennedy School and from the Brown University Costs of War project. Because the United States between 2003 and 2011 fought the Afghanistan and Iraq wars simultaneously, and many American troops served tours in both wars, some figures as noted cover both post-9/11 U.S. wars.

The Longest War:

Percentage of U.S. population born since the 2001 attacks plotted by al-Qaida leaders who were sheltering in Afghanistan: Roughly one out of every four.

The Human Cost:

American service members killed in Afghanistan through April: 2,448.

U.S. contractors: 3,846.

Afghan national military and police: 66,000.

Other allied service members, including from other NATO member states: 1,144.

Afghan civilians: 47,245.

Taliban and other opposition fighters: 51,191.

Aid workers: 444.

Journalists: 72.

Afghanistan After Nearly 20 Years of U.S. Occupation:

Percentage drop in infant mortality rate since U.S., Afghan and other allied forces overthrew the Taliban government, which had sought to restrict women and girls to the home: About 50.

Percentage of Afghan teenage girls able to read today: 37.

Oversight by Congress:

Date Congress authorized U.S. forces to go after culprits in Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: Sept. 18, 2001.

Number of times U.S. lawmakers have voted to declare war in Afghanistan: 0.

Number of times lawmakers on Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee addressed costs of Vietnam War, during that conflict: 42

Number of times lawmakers in same subcommittee have mentioned costs of Afghanistan and Iraq wars, through mid-summer 2021: 5.

Number of times lawmakers on Senate Finance Committee have mentioned costs of Afghanistan and Iraq wars since Sept. 11, 2001, through mid-summer 2021: 1.

Paying for a War on Credit, Not in Cash:

Amount President Harry Truman temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Korean War: 92%.

Amount President Lyndon Johnson temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Vietnam War: 77%.

Amount President George W. Bush cut tax rates for the wealthiest, rather than raise them, at outset of Afghanistan and Iraq wars: At least 8%.

Estimated amount of direct Afghanistan and Iraq war costs that the United States has debt-financed as of 2020: $2 trillion.

Estimated interest costs by 2050: Up to $6.5 trillion.

The Wars End. The Costs Don’t:

Amount Bilmes estimates the United States has committed to pay in health care, disability, burial and other costs for roughly 4 million Afghanistan and Iraq veterans: more than $2 trillion.

Period those costs will peak: after 2048.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Voting Rights Under Fire in Texas: Over a Million Purged From Rolls, ACLU Warns

DON'T MISS

Bettors Banking on Eagles Resurgence, Cowboys Regression as NFL Season Begins

DON'T MISS

Abandoned Poodle Mix Adam Survives the Wild and Seeks a Forever Home

DON'T MISS

Labor Day Quiz: What Did Elvis Do Before He Was the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’?

DON'T MISS

Why Black Students Are Still Disciplined at Higher Rates: Takeaways From AP’s Report

DON'T MISS

Top Brazilian Judge Orders Suspension of X Platform in Brazil Amid Feud With Musk

DON'T MISS

Trump Reverses Course, Opposes Florida Abortion Rights Measure After Conservative Backlash

DON'T MISS

How a Real Estate Boom Drove Political Corruption in Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Big Red Church Hosts Forum on Palestine on Saturday Night

DON'T MISS

Palestinian TikTok Star Who Shared Details of Gaza Life Under Siege Is Killed by Israeli Airstrike

UP NEXT

Palestinian TikTok Star Who Shared Details of Gaza Life Under Siege Is Killed by Israeli Airstrike

UP NEXT

Aid Group Says Israel Hit Convoy to Hospital in Gaza. Israel Says It Hit Gunmen Who Seized the Car

UP NEXT

One of the F-16s Helping Ukraine Fight Russia Has Crashed. Here’s What to Know About Their Role

UP NEXT

Israel’s Hostage Rescue Highlights Challenge of Hamas Tunnels in Gaza

UP NEXT

UN Secures Humanitarian Pauses With Israel for Polio Vaccinations in Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict

UP NEXT

Baby in Gaza Has Strain of Polio Linked to Mistakes in Eradication Campaign, Experts Say

UP NEXT

Israeli Forces Launch a Big Operation in the West Bank and Kill at Least 10 Militants

UP NEXT

French Prosecutors Say Telegram Messaging App CEO Has Been Freed From Custody, Will Appear in Court

UP NEXT

Navy Recruiting Rebounds, but It Will Miss Its Target to Get Sailors Through Boot Camp

UP NEXT

With Hezbollah-Israel Conflict Contained, Iran’s Next Move May Be Modest

Labor Day Quiz: What Did Elvis Do Before He Was the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’?

11 hours ago

Why Black Students Are Still Disciplined at Higher Rates: Takeaways From AP’s Report

11 hours ago

Top Brazilian Judge Orders Suspension of X Platform in Brazil Amid Feud With Musk

22 hours ago

Trump Reverses Course, Opposes Florida Abortion Rights Measure After Conservative Backlash

22 hours ago

How a Real Estate Boom Drove Political Corruption in Los Angeles

1 day ago

Big Red Church Hosts Forum on Palestine on Saturday Night

1 day ago

Palestinian TikTok Star Who Shared Details of Gaza Life Under Siege Is Killed by Israeli Airstrike

1 day ago

Valley PBS Taps Mollison to Be New President/CEO

1 day ago

Farber Campus Opening: ‘Where Students’ Dreams Can Flourish and Not Wither’

1 day ago

Visalia Rawhide and City Agree on Terms to Upgrade Stadium

1 day ago

Voting Rights Under Fire in Texas: Over a Million Purged From Rolls, ACLU Warns

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the removal of over one million voters from state rolls since 2020, sparking concern among voting rights ad...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

Voting Rights Under Fire in Texas: Over a Million Purged From Rolls, ACLU Warns

9 hours ago

Bettors Banking on Eagles Resurgence, Cowboys Regression as NFL Season Begins

A black poodle's face with his tongue sticking out
10 hours ago

Abandoned Poodle Mix Adam Survives the Wild and Seeks a Forever Home

11 hours ago

Labor Day Quiz: What Did Elvis Do Before He Was the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’?

11 hours ago

Why Black Students Are Still Disciplined at Higher Rates: Takeaways From AP’s Report

22 hours ago

Top Brazilian Judge Orders Suspension of X Platform in Brazil Amid Feud With Musk

22 hours ago

Trump Reverses Course, Opposes Florida Abortion Rights Measure After Conservative Backlash

1 day ago

How a Real Estate Boom Drove Political Corruption in Los Angeles

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend