The War in Afghanistan Wasn’t Worth It—We Have the Numbers

And they’re not good: 241,000 dead, 2.5 million displaced, $2.4 trillion spent (and counting), and a more powerful Taliban than ever before.

(Image Credit: Public Domain)

After 20 years of war and occupation, President Biden made the difficult decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan. Within 10 days, though, Taliban forces seized the country with little opposition from the Afghan army, leaving many to wonder what the point of the war was. Now that the war is over, the numbers don’t lie: the last 20 years have not been worth it.

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A Larger and Better Funded Taliban

After the attacks on September 11th 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan to topple the Taliban because they had harbored Al Qaeda, who had orchestrated and carried out the attacks. However, the Taliban has only grown more powerful.

Before the invasion, they had an estimated 45,000 members, and within a few years, their numbers sank to 11,000. However, according…