Costs of the Afghanistan war, in lives and dollars | AP News
At just short of 20 years, the now-ending U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan was Americas 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.
Heres 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 Universitys 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 DONT:
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.
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Costs of the Afghanistan war, in lives and dollars | AP News
- Lavrov Warns NATO Of 'Time Bomb' in Afghanistan Over Military Redeployment Attempts | Watch - Times of India - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- MTN leaves Afghanistan, hands over to M1 Group - Developing Telecoms - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Governments of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan to sign railway project - AzerNews - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Afghan-American appointed to lead U.S. policy on Afghanistan at the State Department - ASIA-Plus - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Veterans who each lost part of a leg in Afghanistan try for new world record with Grand Canyon hike - Stars and Stripes - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Suspended/Closed Health Facilities due to the U.S. Government Work-Stop Ban (Update as of 22 April 2025) - ReliefWeb - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- On This Day in 2008, a Mortar Attack Halts Toby Keiths USO Concert in Afghanistan - American Songwriter - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Pakistan, Russia agree to boost cooperation on terrorism threats in Afghanistan - MSN - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- US weapons left behind in Afghanistan now with Taliban: Why is Pakistan ringing alarm bells? - Firstpost - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan womens team gets funding from the International Cricket Council - AP News - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Trump administration ending temporary protected status for nationals from Afghanistan and Cameroon - Scripps News - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- US restores urgent food aid, except in Afghanistan and Yemen, two of the worlds poorest countries - AP News - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan women's team gets funding from the International Cricket Council - MSN - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Has Taliban Handed Over Bagram Airbase to US? | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G - Firstpost - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Terrorists used US weapons abandoned in Afghanistan in Jaffer Express attack: report - Dawn - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Anti-US banner appears on former embassy in Afghanistan - Caliber.Az - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan women's team gets funding from the International Cricket Council - The Derrick - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan women's team gets funding from the International Cricket Council - Traverse City Record-Eagle - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Taliban carries out public execution of two men in western Afghanistan - Times of India - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- 'Trump and Afghanistan are the perfect illustration of America withdrawing into itself' - Le Monde.fr - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- A midwife says of the aid cuts in Afghanistan: 'No one prioritizes women's lives.' - NPR - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Banned from education: A review of the right to education in Afghanistan - UNESCO - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- The Taliban leader says there is no need for Western laws in Afghanistan - AP News - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- ACAPS Thematic report - Afghanistan: Implications of the US foreign aid cuts on the humanitarian response (01 April 2025) - ReliefWeb - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- American woman held in Afghanistan by the Taliban has been released, AP source says - AP News - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- India says it is monitoring reports of abuse against Sikhs in Afghanistan and Pakistan - Amu TV - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- EU and Central Asian leaders urge inclusive government in Afghanistan - News.az - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- About 140 years old: the oldest person on Earth lives in Afghanistan - EADaily - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Trump hands Taliban-controlled Afghanistan the same 'Liberation Day' tariff as the UK 'after terror group spen - Daily Mail - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- China, Japan, India, Malaysia, Russia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan ,Italy, Poland, Spain, South Korea And More Countries Propel Gilans Tourism To... - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Suspended/Closed Health Facilities due to the U.S. Government Work-Stop Ban (Update as of 1 April 2025) - ReliefWeb - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Bidens Failure in Afghanistan: Public Relations Was the Concern Not the Dissent Cable - American Center for Law and Justice - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- TTP, BLA's armament: Pakistan urges UNSC to prevent weapons' access to terrorists in Afghanistan - Geo.tv - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Taliban frees an American man who was abducted while traveling in Afghanistan more than 2 years ago - The Associated Press - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American George Glezmann freed by Taliban more than 2 years after arrest in Afghanistan - CBS News - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- George Glezmann, US man detained in Afghanistan in 2022, released by Taliban in goodwill gesture - The Times of India - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American detained by Taliban in Afghanistan is freed in deal mediated by Qatar - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Security Council renews UN mission as WHO warns of health catastrophe - UN News - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan has been released - AOL - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Taliban frees an American man who was abducted while traveling in Afghanistan more than 2 years ago - The Sun Chronicle - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American Detained In Afghanistan By The Taliban Has been Released - iHeart - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan's school year begins without girls beyond sixth grade - News.Az - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American Detained In Afghanistan By The Taliban Has been Released - KLVI - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American Detained In Afghanistan By The Taliban Has been Released - WIMA - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Swiss government to deport rejected asylum seekers from Afghanistan - SWI swissinfo.ch in English - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- US citizen George Glezmann released from detention in Afghanistan - Herald Palladium - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- India ranks 118th in World Happiness Report, Afghanistan is last - Deccan Herald - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- We have no presence in India, Afghanistan or anywhere else: BLA - News Vibes of India - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan trying to connect with neighbors via railway - Pajhwok Afghan News - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- 80% Of Afghanistan Services Risk Shutdown By June: World Health Organization - NDTV - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- British pensioners jailed in Afghanistan to appear in court after the Taliban said their arrest was a 'misunde - Daily Mail - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Why is India quietly boosting ties with Afghanistan's Taliban? - Nikkei Asia - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan vets group to step down later this spring - Military Times - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Explained: Trump travel ban 2.0 to affect 43 countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan - The Indian Express - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- NewsMakers Afghanistan and the Future of American - Home - The Commune - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- He helped in Afghanistan. Now, his family is blocked from coming to Charlotte under Trump. - Charlotte Observer - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Health Crisis in Afghanistan: 206,000 Infected with Acute Respiratory Diseases in One Month - Hasht-e Subh Daily - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Rule Breakers review: Terrific drama shows the battle for girls' education in Afghanistan - New Scientist - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Trump calls US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan most humiliating moment in history - Amu TV - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- UAE expands healthcare access with state-of-the-art clinics in Afghanistan - The Tribune India - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Pakistan, Afghanistan among 43 nations to be put in Trump administration's new travel ban list - Connected to India - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- I served in Afghanistan. President Trumps war on DEI is making Americas military weaker - Stars and Stripes - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Pakistan says train attack was orchestrated from Afghanistan: It was like a rain of rockets and bullets - The Independent - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- UAE expands healthcare access with state-of-the-art clinics in Afghanistan - ETHealthWorld - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Hizb-ut-Tahrir Afghanistan: West Is Trying To Assimilate Taliban - Middle East Media Research Institute - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Remarks by Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Charg dAffaires, at a UN Security Council Briefing on Afghanistan - United States Mission to the United Nations - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Afghanistan Monthly Protection Update As of January 2025 - ReliefWeb - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Briefing to the United Nations Security Council by the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, 10 March 2025 -... - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- The UK unequivocally condemns the Talibans ban on girls' education in Afghanistan: UK statement at the UN Security Council - GOV.UK - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- A War and the Taliban: Life of a Greek Woman in Male-Dominated Afghanistan - Greek Reporter - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- De Facto Authorities in Afghanistan urged to Clarify International Position - News Central - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Graham on Ukraine aid pause: If we pull the plug on Ukraine, itd be worse than Afghanistan - The Hill - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- India calls special ties foundation of engagement with Afghanistan at UN - Hindustan Times - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Lindsey Graham's Warning Over Abandoning Ukraine'Worse Than Afghanistan' - Newsweek - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- OIC envoy discusses Afghanistan with Turkish foreign ministry official - Amu TV - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Afghanistan Women: Human Rights Watch calls on ICC to side with exiled cricketers, not Taliban - Sky Sports - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Pakistan to take all necessary measures against terrorist outfits based in Afghanistan: Akram - DAWN.com - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- 2025 Champions Trophy: Heres The Truth Behind Viral Videos Claiming To Show Celebrations In Afghanistan After Indias Win - Newschecker - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- US reviewing visa programs as official says Afghanistan could be included in Trump travel ban - CNN - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- US aid cut leave 80 Afghan women stranded in Oman, fearing return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan - The Times of India - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]