Submission Statement

Between 2001 and 2021, under four U.S. presidents, the United States spent approximately $2.3 trillion, with 2,459 American military fatalities and up to 360,000 estimated Afghan civilian deaths.

After the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, approximately $7.12 billion worth of military equipment was left behind, according to a 2022 Department of Defense report. This equipment, transferred to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) from 2005 to 2021, included:

Weapons: Over 300,000 of 427,300 weapons, including rifles like M4s and M16s.  
Vehicles: More than 40,000 of 96,000 military vehicles, including 12,000 Humvees and 1,000 armored vehicles.  
Aircraft: 78 aircraft, valued at $923.3 million, left at Hamid Karzai International Airport, all demilitarized and rendered inoperable.  
Munitions: 9,524 air-to-ground munitions worth $6.54 million, mostly non-precision.  
Communications and Specialized Equipment: Nearly all communications gear (e.g., radios, encryption devices) and 42,000 pieces of night vision, surveillance, biometric, and positioning equipment.  

The total equipment provided to the ANDSF was valued at $18.6 billion, with the $7.12 billion figure representing what remained after the withdrawal. Much of this equipment is now under Taliban control, though its operational capability is limited due to the need for specialized maintenance and technical expertise.

The United States has provided at least $93.41 billion in total aid to Afghanistan since 2001. This includes:

Military Aid (2001–2020): Approximately $72.7 billion (in current dollars), primarily through the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund ($71.7 billion) and other programs like International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, and Peacekeeping Operations ($1 billion combined).  

Humanitarian and Reconstruction Aid (2001–2025): Around $20.71 billion, including $3 billion in humanitarian and development aid post-2021 and $3.5 billion in frozen Afghan assets transferred to the Afghan Fund in 2022. Pre-2021 reconstruction and humanitarian aid (e.g., $174 million in 2001 and $300 million pledged in 2002) adds to this, though exact figures for the full period are less clear.  
  • RabbitBBQ@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 month ago

    Yeah but think how much money grifters made off of it. That $40 trillion in debt had to go somewhere.

  • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    1 month ago

    We learned that the Taliban can be right here in your own backyard, and the most important thing is the oil deals you make along the way.

      • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        1 month ago

        The Greatest US warrior of all

        The first was for himself. The second for his country. This time it’s to save his friend. 😉

      • AES_Enjoyer@reddthat.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 month ago

        I think the text is doctored, in the OG film it’s not so explicit. Feel free to correct me though, I’m working off “I heard it somewhere”.

        • Glytch@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          13
          ·
          1 month ago

          The movie is Rambo 3 and you are correct. The real dedication is to the “Gallant people of Afghanistan”.

        • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 month ago

          There is some debate about who doctored it yes.
          Can’t mistake the message of the movie tho

      • Alloi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        1 month ago

        L take. please look up how the taliban treats their own people. they are a regressive ruling class and are extremely cruel to their own people. especially women and children.

        they didnt betray their country, they didnt want to live under an archaic group of power grabbing religious fanatics. there is a difference.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 month ago

          please look up how the taliban treats their own people

          Okay, but then look at how the Heroin smugglers and child sex traffickers that ran Afghanistan under the US treated their own people.

        • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          4
          ·
          1 month ago

          I don’t need to do shit.

          Looks like you don’t know anything about it except what your propaganda fed you.
          They VOTED overwhelmingly for the Taliban in the first elections held under US invader occupation regime.
          OC that wasn’t to their liking so they annuled it and redid them without the Taliban.
          The american way of democracy.

          • Alloi@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 month ago

            Looks like you don’t know anything about it except what your propaganda fed you

            its widely known what the taliban consider crime and punishment. i dont subscribe to the idea that the US are the good guys either. without them getting involved in the first place, the taliban wouldnt have existed. however i wont ignore the mountains of available evidence and first hand reports that came from the middle east, before, during, and after the invasion. on both sides.

            the taliban are not everyones cup of tea when considering a ruling class, this guy in particular chose not to live under that rule. it doesnt make him a traitor to his country. the political leadership of a country is not the country. its just the current establishment. the middle east has an incredibly diverse set of issues and groups vying for power and control, foreign, and domestic. you cant blame someone for wanting to get away from all that.

            blind nationalism is for fools. that goes for anyone living in any country.

        • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 month ago

          they are a regressive ruling class and are extremely cruel to their own people. especially women and children.

          They treat them far better than America treats middle easterners

      • frezik@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 month ago

        Are people who leave the US now in the wake of the Trump Administration also traitors to their country?

        • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          3
          ·
          1 month ago

          Ridiculous comparison.
          Did a foreign army invade the US and those US citizens collaborated with them, helped them interrogate and torture Americans and plenty more?

          • frezik@midwest.social
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 month ago

            As of 2022, there were about 195k Afghan immigrants in the US. The vast majority of them coming in after 2010. Did they all help torture people?

            • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              4
              ·
              1 month ago

              Can you count? You invaders and looters were there until 2021.
              Plenty of collaborators until the last minute.
              Did you forget when your regime goons shot dozens of them in a panic when the last planes left Kabul and a crowd of traitors wanted to join?

                • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  arrow-down
                  3
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  1 month ago

                  I’m saying I have enough of you propaganda trolls.
                  Your ‘are you saying’ and other transparent fallacy tactics are boring and lame.
                  You’ve been dealth with and you’re doinf a lousy job. Eglin should fire you.
                  Better luck somewhere else.

  • Hellsfire29@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 month ago

    In our defense, President Ghani abandoned his country and forces and allowed the taliban to take over. The ANA and ANP defected as well, which didn’t help matters any. He felt like he had no chance and didn’t want to add to the violence. Seeing the ana and the anp operate first hand, yes, they would have been obliterated.

    When I was there, the locals appeared to want us there, but also were supplying Intel to the enemy. They knew when the taliban was going to attack, and when we patrolled. I get it, they wanted to stay alive and all.

    I know people think we shouldn’t have been there but look at our exit, and how the locals clung to the planes after take off. They were afraid of retribution from the taliban but for 20 years, they had someone to watch over them.

    However, the taliban takeover was inevitable. We could have won that war, but we said fuck it and left. Why? Because it wasn’t worth it anymore. And the US population thought they knew better. It lost or never had their approvaI. met a lot of cool Afghani locals. Hope they’re alright.

    Just my 2 cents while I was over there for a year. And fuck the taliban. USA shouldn’t send any type of aid there. We left enough there as it is. They don’t call that area the “Graveyard of Empires” for nothing. If they want to live in the stone age, let them. They don’t need anymore outside influence.

  • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    53
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 month ago

    And yet, I’ve seen people on here criticize the withdrawal. Like, how much longer did you wanna stay, dawg? Another 20 years so the proxy we set up would last another week?

    • Nalivai@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 month ago

      People didn’t criticize the withdrawal itself (at least non-monsters didn’t). People criticized the fact that in so many years there was no robust infrastructure built. They broke whatever was there before them, fucked around for decades, achieved jack shit, and left leaving power vacuum.

      • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        1 month ago

        People didn’t criticize the withdrawal itself (at least non-monsters didn’t).

        I mean, I’m not going to disagree with characterizing these .worlders for example as monsters, but it’s not as if it was a fringe position.

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      11
      ·
      1 month ago

      We have 10,000 troops permanently stationed in the UK. Another 12,000 permanently stationed in Italy. Another 25,000 permanently stationed in Korea. 35,000 permanently stationed in Germany. 52,000 permanently stationed in Japan.

      We should have established a similar, permanent presence in Afghanistan. Come back to me in 80 years, after their economy looks like South Korea’s, and we can start to discuss a drawdown.

      • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        17
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        1 month ago

        Come back to me in 80 years

        On the one hand, props for putting a number to it, on the other, Jesus Fucking Christ.

        You realize that all the countries’ governments you listed have at least consented to us being there, whereas Afghanistan specifically said they wanted us gone?

        Just going full Genghis Khan over here. As if the brazen conquest wasn’t bad enough, you want to condemn our grandkids to the continued subjugation of their grandkids. Absolutely insane.

        • Damage@feddit.it
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          1 month ago

          Ehhh kinda. For many of those countries, the troops were a leftover of occupation, it was a choice but kind of a forced one, you don’t want to upset your overlords.

          In the EU, with the increased independence as the organization grew, calls to send the American troops home became stronger and stronger.

          • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            1 month ago

            I’m not trying defend those deployments, I hate the military as much as anyone. But the fascist I’m arguing with is trying to use those deployments as a justification for a hostile, century long occupation with the goal of forcibly erasing their culture through force. All I’m saying is, those are not the same thing.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          11
          arrow-down
          12
          ·
          edit-2
          1 month ago

          Ask the women and girls of Afghanistan if they want us gone. The women and girls who are no longer allowed to attend school, and can look forward to generations of total subjugation.

          Why do you hold the opinions of their oppressors in such high regard?

          You say they asked us to leave. They dont have a government with sufficient legitimacy to even make such a request. They won’t have one until several generations of school kids have been raised to believe their mothers and sisters are actual people, not just some weird furniture.

          When the first generation of co-ed Afghani school kids are in nursing homes and hospice, we can start listening to Afghan opinions about our continued presence.

          Yes, permanent installations, influencing their economy and culture for decades. So that our grandkids see them grow into a nation more comparable to South Korea than North Korea.

          • boonhet@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            11
            ·
            1 month ago

            These Afghan women married and gave birth to the men ruling over them. They’re at least somewhat complicit in this. They had 20 years to breed a more liberal generation of men, but they did not.

            Taliban had such an easy time taking back control because nobody gave a shit.

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              6
              arrow-down
              3
              ·
              1 month ago

              Ah, yes. It is the slave’s fault that they do their master’s bidding. They are complicit. They could just overthrow the overseers. Instead, they provide them with the means of their own enslavement.

              That’s you. That’s what you sound like.

              • boonhet@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                arrow-down
                10
                ·
                1 month ago

                The slaves didn’t raise their own masters.

                The US backed Afghani government lasted less than one day because NOBODY wanted it. Only the Americans did. It’s not part of Afghani culture to send women to school and such. It’s like forcing Americans at gunpoint to eat salad instead of McDonald’s.

                • rumimevlevi@lemmings.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  4
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  1 month ago

                  It’s not part of Afghani culture to send women to school and such

                  What bunch of bs. Before taliban created by the united snake , women was stupying and working In the 1980s, about 40% of doctors and 60% of teachers in Kabul were women.

                  You are like the racists settlers who was calling Indigenous people savages. Shame on you

          • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            1 month ago

            I bet you don’t know the first elections after the invasion were already won by the Taliban after which the US decided they had to do it again without them participating.
            What people do and their customs are not your business.
            Why don’t you invade Saudi Arabia then?
            Where they hang people every day.

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              4
              ·
              1 month ago

              What people do and their customs are not your business.

              I cast a mental vote on behalf of each and every woman in the country. Votes that they and you ignore.

              Theybare subjected to a government they did not choose. That pisses me right the fuck off.

              • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                5
                arrow-down
                2
                ·
                1 month ago

                You pretend to care about women’s rights to justify and whitewash your gigantic large scale warcrimes. You bomb women, men and children indiscriminately.
                Are you bombing the children of Iran and Palestine to promote womens rights too? I’m sure they’ll love you for it.
                Now piss off, you make me sick with your holier-than-thou BS.

          • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            13
            arrow-down
            6
            ·
            edit-2
            1 month ago

            The only language you imperialist bastards will ever understand is force, thankfully, Afghans know how to speak it. May the message spread around the world.

              • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                5
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                1 month ago

                If that were true, you’d have a lot in common with them. How many women were murdered by the occupation? I wonder, how long your country would have to occupied to stop people from thinking and acting like you? Because I think we should leave Afghanistan alone and start there.

                I hope that you find yourself on the receiving end of what you support.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      18
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 month ago

      This happened a lot around Afghanistan too.

      If there’s one thing both sides love in this country, it’s permanent warfare, provided they can get the poors to do all the fighting and dying.

  • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    20
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    1 month ago

    TBF, withdrawing was a Trump era decision that Joe Biden simply didn’t stop. Trump also released 5,000+ Taliban Fighters just before. I feel like if we didn’t elect people like Donald fucking Trump then the outcome might have been different, it really seems like he was intentionally causing these problems.

        • smayonak@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 month ago

          Their plan was to reduce us casualties to generate an illusion that the us was winning the war. So they cut a deal with the Taliban: the us would no longer support Afgani government soldiers with air support and in exchange the taliban would not attack us bases. This led to Afghanistan government soldiers quitting and the government collapsing.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        1 month ago

        At every stage, the US lost more and more territory. By Biden, they’d been hedged into Kabul like the US was backed into Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.

        The idea that we could have just camped out and refused to leave was politically impractical and logistically incredibly difficult. And why would we have been there, except to periodically fling bombs into neighboring territory?

        We’d lost the war a decade earlier and simply refused to admit it. By Biden, it was a farce. We didn’t control the country in any meaningful way.

        • Bloomcole@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 month ago

          They never had control, they outsourced a lot of the fighting to the warlords they paid, without them they would have been thrown out a lot earlier

  • Ledericas@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    1 month ago

    before that it was the mujahadeen trained by SEALs/special operations, turned taliban.

    • Blackmist@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 month ago

      Man, am I glad that never backfired.

      Still, we got Charlie Wilson’s War out of it.

    • Treczoks@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      1 month ago

      Like in the first episode of Beverley Hillbillies: “They offered me 125 dollars for the bog. But I don’t know what kind of dollars. I know gold dollars and silver dollars, and even those newfangled paper dollars. But what is a million dollar?”