Afghanistan and Pakistan have been engaged in their current wars for nearly 15
years, and the cost in human
lives and health has been enormous: the combined
death toll is 173,000 dead and more than 183,000 seriously wounded. The wars in
Afghanistan and Pakistan remain interrelated, not least because the border is
porous between the two countries, but also becaus
e the United States has put
resources into the fighting on both sides of that border. On 6 July 2016, U.S.
President Barack Obama announced that the planned reductions of U.S. troops in
Afghanistan would be delayed. He said, "I strongly believe that it i
s in our national
security interest, especially after all the blood and treasure we’ve invested in
Afghanistan over the years, that we give our Afghan partners the very best
opportunity to succeed."
2
The war has cost the United States more than $800 billio
n
in direct appropriations to the State Department and Department of Defense.
3
As
the Costs of War project has documented, t
here are many other economic costs in
the US
,
Afghanistan
and Pakistan
.