Vocativ.com: The War In Afghanistan: By The Numbers

From: Berhane Habtemariam <Berhane.Habtemariam_at_gmx.de_at_dehai.org>
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2015 22:50:07 +0200

Nearly $1 trillion, 14 years and tens of thousands of deaths later, the Taliban still threatens the country

on Oct 05, 2015 at 6:24 PM

The Taliban’s latest land grab in Afghanistan this week may lead to more, not less U.S. involvement and spending.

The group seized the strategic city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan on Monday, and since then the Afghan security forces have struggled to take it back. The Taliban’s territorial advances of late have been so alarming that experts now believe the Taliban could have control of 50 percent of the country. This is deflating news for the United States, which has spent billions of dollars and lost thousands of lives in its longest war, just as President Barack Obama and NATO planned to withdraw more troops.

Here are some of the most shocking numbers behind the war in Afghanistan:

$2.1 million per soldier

The war cost almost $1 trillion, according to an investigation in 2014 by The Financial Times. That comes down to $2.1 million per U.S. service member on the ground, Reuters reported.

$33,000 per Afghan citizen

That’s the cost of the war, when each Afghan makes an average of $670 per year.

3,496 soldiers dead

According to icasualties.org, that’s how many coalition soldiers have been killed.

26 times more Afghan citizens killed

The Cost of War Project at Brown University found that approximately 92,000 Afghans died violent deaths in the war, 26,000 civilians.

More than 2.5 million refugees

A total of that many people fled the country in the millions because of the violence and instability, according to the UNHCR. There are currently 765,000 internally displaced people within the country as well.

$3,144 per American

Dividing the $1 trillion cost by the 318.9-million population of the U.S. means the war in Afghanistan cost approximately $3,144 per American citizen.

Received on Mon Oct 05 2015 - 16:50:08 EDT

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