War barely brings anything good for humanity and US war in Afghanistan is not an exception!
For years, Afghanistan was ruled by many foreign powers! And lastly, after 9/11, US military came into the picture to defeat Taliban. A war continued for almost two decades and it’s the fate of the people of this region that they had to face this reality! From daily roadside bombing to killing women and children from airstrikes; There were no peace for years. One side Taliban playing the card of Shariah, on the other hand, super power had to demonstrate their super powers. Weaponry showing off and exhibition of costly military power despite Taliban remains undefeated. US military had to leave this region unnoticed with so many questions unanswered. One of them is “What was the point?”.
Suddenly, US troops completely evacuated Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Once a home for almost 100000 soldiers, a massive military arsenal, symbol of strength of US military, now a deserted place. As many people say war in Afghanistan is a war of numbers, we will try to explore some figures.
Let’s have a look at the loss of life:
Afghan: Between 2009 to 2020; Over 38,000 civilians were killed and more than 70,000 others were wounded. (UNAM) And also people have been displaced in large numbers.
US: With more than 2400 military personnel killed and over 20,700 wounded.
Afghan Security Forces: Afghan government has been skeptical in publishing the number of the casualties in security forces. But President Ashraf Ghani in 2019 said that more than 45,000 members of security forces have been killed since 2014.
Financial cost of the battle:
As of 30 September 2019, the Pentagon officially estimated the cost of US operations in Afghanistan at $776 billion since 2001.
All the parties involved in war in Afghanistan somehow lost something. Everyone has paid the price including the NATO, the US military, the Taliban and the Afghan Forces. In term of achievements, Taliban has a lot to tell. But, what about the US army!
As the critic says, it’s a mission of failure!
Source: https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2021/0706/1233329-afghanistan/