🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 56 (from laksa186)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa056.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/08/31/afghanistan-war-lives-costs-by-numbers\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/08/31/afghanistan-war-lives-costs-by-numbers\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2021\/08\/31\/afghanistan-war-lives-costs-by-numbers","crawl_time":1776044984,"first_indexed_time":1630409393,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"org,wbur!www,\/news\/2021\/08\/31\/afghanistan-war-lives-costs-by-numbers s443","src_root_hash":"15087967046536411256","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Costs Of America's Longest War: Thousands Of Lives, Trillions Of Dollars | WBUR News","meta_descriptions":["The war's death toll for Afghans and Americans and their NATO allies is in the many tens of thousands, and generations of Americans to come will be paying off its cost, in the trillions of dollars."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"U.S. military planes have carried the last U.S. service members and diplomats from Kabul's airport,\nending America's longest war\n.\nOrdinary Americans closely watched the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, as they did the start of the war nearly 20 years ago, in the weeks after the 9\/11 attacks. But Americans often tended to forget about the Afghanistan war in between, and it received measurably less oversight from Congress than the Vietnam War did.\nThe war's death toll for Afghans and Americans and their NATO allies is in the many tens of thousands, and generations of Americans to come will be paying off its cost, in the trillions of dollars.\nHere's a look at the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, by the numbers, as the last Americans deployed there departed.\nMuch of the data below is from Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s Kennedy School and from the Brown University\nCosts of War project\n. 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.\nThe Longest War\nPercentage of U.S. population born since the 2001 attacks plotted by al-Qaida leaders who were sheltering in Afghanistan:\nRoughly 1 out of every 4.\nThe Human Cost\nAfghan civilians killed, through April:\n47,245\nAmerican service members killed in Afghanistan:\n2,461\nU.S. contractors, through April:\n3,846\nAfghan national military and police, through April:\n66,000\nOther allied service members, including from other NATO member states, through April:\n1,144.\nTaliban and other opposition fighters, through April:\n51,191\nAid workers, through April:\n444\nJournalists, through April:\n72\nAfghanistan After Nearly 20 Years Of U.S. Occupation\nPercentage 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.\nPercentage of Afghan teenage girls able to read today:\n37\nPercentage of Afghans with access to electricity in 2005:\n22\nIn 2019:\n98.\nDays before the U.S. withdrawal that the Taliban retook control:\n15\nOversight By Congress\nDate Congress authorized U.S. forces to go after culprits in Sept. 11, 2001, attacks:\nSept. 18, 2001\nNumber of times U.S. lawmakers have voted to declare war in Afghanistan:\n0\nNumber of times lawmakers on Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee addressed costs of Vietnam War, during that conflict:\n42\nNumber of times lawmakers in same subcommittee have mentioned costs of Afghanistan and Iraq wars, through mid-summer 2021:\n5\nNumber of times lawmakers on Senate Finance Committee have mentioned costs of Afghanistan and Iraq wars since Sept. 11, 2001, through mid-summer 2021:\n1\nPaying For A War On Credit, Not In Cash\nAmount President Harry Truman temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Korean War:\n92%\nAmount President Lyndon Johnson temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Vietnam War:\n77%\nAmount President George W. Bush cut tax rates for the wealthiest, rather than raise them, at outset of Afghanistan and Iraq wars:\nAt least 8%\nEstimated amount of direct Afghanistan and Iraq war costs that the United States has debt-financed as of 2020:\n$2 trillion\nEstimated interest costs by 2050:\nUp to $6.5 trillion\nThe Wars End. The Costs Don't\nAmount Bilmes estimates the United States will pay in health care, disability, burial and other costs for roughly 4 million Afghanistan and Iraq veterans:\nmore than $2 trillion\nPeriod those costs will peak:\nafter 2048","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to main content](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2021\/08\/31\/afghanistan-war-lives-costs-by-numbers#main)\n\n[Support WBUR. Donate your car. Your unwanted vehicle can drive WBUR forward. Donate your car, boat or truck today. Learn More](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/membership\/605928\/donate-your-car)\n\n[WBUR90.0 WBUR - Boston's NPR News Station](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/)\n\nListen Live: Embodied\n\n[Donate](https:\/\/donate.wbur.org\/secure\/heart-wbur-homepage?utm_source=wbur.org&utm_medium=heart)\n\n[WBUR90.0 WBUR - Boston's NPR News Station](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/)\n\nListen Live: Embodied\n\n[Donate](https:\/\/donate.wbur.org\/secure\/heart-wbur-homepage?utm_source=wbur.org&utm_medium=heart)\n\nListen Live\n\n#### Sections\n- [Local Coverage](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news)\n- [Arts & Culture](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/section\/arts-culture)\n- [Business](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/section\/business)\n- [Education](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/section\/education)\n- [Environment](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/section\/environment)\n- [Field Guide To Boston](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/section\/field-guide-to-boston)\n- [Health](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/section\/health)\n- [Investigations](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/section\/investigations)\n- [Cognoscenti](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/opinion\/section\/cognoscenti)\n- [Boston News Quiz](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/quiz)\n\n#### Radio\n- [All Radio Programs](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/radio)\n- [All Things Considered](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/radio\/programs\/all-things-considered)\n- [Here & Now](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/radio\/programs\/hereandnow)\n- [Morning Edition](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/radio\/programs\/morningedition)\n- [On Point](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/radio\/programs\/onpoint)\n- [On-Air Schedule](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/radio\/schedule)\n- [Ways To Listen](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/ways-to-listen)\n\n#### Podcasts\n- [All Podcasts](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/podcasts)\n- [Beyond All Repair](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/podcasts\/violation)\n- [Circle Round](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/podcasts\/circleround)\n- [Endless Thread](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/podcasts\/endlessthread)\n- [Last Seen](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/podcasts\/lastseen)\n- [The Midnight Rebellion](https:\/\/podcasts.wbur.org\/the-midnight-rebellion)\n- [Violation](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/podcasts\/violation\/the-marshall-project-wbur-violation)\n\n#### Events\n- [CitySpace Calendar](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/events)\n- [Watch Past Events](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/events\/browse?archive)\n- [Events Newsletter](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/events\/newsletter)\n- [Rent CitySpace](https:\/\/www.rentcityspace.com\/)\n- [The WBUR Festival](https:\/\/www.wburfestival.org\/)\n\n#### Support\n- [Member Services](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/membership)\n- [Become A Member](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/membership\/605748\/members)\n- [Donate Your Car](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/membership\/605928\/donate-your-car)\n- [Join The Murrow Society](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/murrowsociety)\n- [Make A Donation](https:\/\/donate.wbur.org\/secure\/give?utm_source=wbur.org&utm_medium=web&utm_term=hamburger_menu)\n- [Become A Sponsor](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/sponsorship\/about)\n- [Create A Custom Podcast](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/inside\/cityspaceproductions)\n\n#### Subscribe to our weekday newsletter\nAdd WBUR to your morning routine\n\nLocal news in one concise, fun and informative email. [Explore more WBUR newsletters](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/newsletters).\n\nSupport WBUR\n\nAdvertisements on wbur.org help support the news. Please consider a [donation today\\!](https:\/\/donate.wbur.org\/secure\/give?utm_medium=web&utm_source=wbur.org&utm_term=ad_block_message)\n\n1. [Home](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/)\n2. [Local Coverage](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news)\n# Costs Of America's Longest War: Thousands Of Lives, Trillions Of Dollars\n- Ellen Knickmeyer, The Associated Press\n\nAugust 31, 2021\n\nShare\n\nThis article is more than 4 years old.\n\nU.S. military planes have carried the last U.S. service members and diplomats from Kabul's airport, [ending America's longest war](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/npr\/1032367184\/rockets-kabul-airport-deadline-us-troops-bomb).\n\nOrdinary Americans closely watched the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, as they did the start of the war nearly 20 years ago, in the weeks after the 9\/11 attacks. But Americans often tended to forget about the Afghanistan war in between, and it received measurably less oversight from Congress than the Vietnam War did.\n\nThe war's death toll for Afghans and Americans and their NATO allies is in the many tens of thousands, and generations of Americans to come will be paying off its cost, in the trillions of dollars.\n\nHere's a look at the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, by the numbers, as the last Americans deployed there departed.\n\nMuch of the data below is from Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s Kennedy School and from the Brown University [Costs of War project](https:\/\/watson.brown.edu\/costsofwar\/). 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.\n\n## The Longest War\nPercentage of U.S. population born since the 2001 attacks plotted by al-Qaida leaders who were sheltering in Afghanistan: **Roughly 1 out of every 4.**\n\n## The Human Cost\nAfghan civilians killed, through April: **47,245**\n\nAmerican service members killed in Afghanistan: **2,461**\n\nU.S. contractors, through April: **3,846**\n\nAfghan national military and police, through April: **66,000**\n\nOther allied service members, including from other NATO member states, through April: **1,144.**\n\nTaliban and other opposition fighters, through April: **51,191**\n\nAid workers, through April: **444**\n\nJournalists, through April: **72**\n\n## Afghanistan After Nearly 20 Years Of U.S. Occupation\nPercentage 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.\n\nPercentage of Afghan teenage girls able to read today: **37**\n\nPercentage of Afghans with access to electricity in 2005: **22**\n\nIn 2019: **98\\.**\n\nDays before the U.S. withdrawal that the Taliban retook control: **15**\n\n## Oversight By Congress\nDate Congress authorized U.S. forces to go after culprits in Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: **Sept. 18, 2001**\n\nNumber of times U.S. lawmakers have voted to declare war in Afghanistan: **0**\n\nNumber of times lawmakers on Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee addressed costs of Vietnam War, during that conflict: **42**\n\nNumber of times lawmakers in same subcommittee have mentioned costs of Afghanistan and Iraq wars, through mid-summer 2021: **5**\n\nNumber of times lawmakers on Senate Finance Committee have mentioned costs of Afghanistan and Iraq wars since Sept. 11, 2001, through mid-summer 2021: **1**\n\n## Paying For A War On Credit, Not In Cash\nAmount President Harry Truman temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Korean War: **92%**\n\nAmount President Lyndon Johnson temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Vietnam War: **77%**\n\nAmount President George W. Bush cut tax rates for the wealthiest, rather than raise them, at outset of Afghanistan and Iraq wars: **At least 8%**\n\nEstimated amount of direct Afghanistan and Iraq war costs that the United States has debt-financed as of 2020: **\\$2 trillion**\n\nEstimated interest costs by 2050: **Up to \\$6.5 trillion**\n\n## The Wars End. The Costs Don't\nAmount Bilmes estimates the United States will pay in health care, disability, burial and other costs for roughly 4 million Afghanistan and Iraq veterans: **more than \\$2 trillion**\n\nPeriod those costs will peak: **after 2048**\n\n## Related:\n- [The Final U.S. Military Plane Has Left Afghanistan As America's Longest War Ends](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/npr\/1032367184\/rockets-kabul-airport-deadline-us-troops-bomb)\n- [He Is The Last American Soldier To Leave Afghanistan](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/npr\/1032683828\/the-last-american-soldier-to-leave-afghanistan)\n- [The Taliban Is Celebrating Its Takeover Now That The U.S. Withdrawal Is Complete](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/npr\/1032656612\/taliban-afghanistan-american-forces-withdrawal)\n\nSupport WBUR\n\nAdvertisements on wbur.org help support the news. Please consider a [donation today\\!](https:\/\/donate.wbur.org\/secure\/give?utm_medium=web&utm_source=wbur.org&utm_term=ad_block_message)\n## More from WBUR\nSupport WBUR\n\nAdvertisements on wbur.org help support the news. Please consider a [donation today\\!](https:\/\/donate.wbur.org\/secure\/give?utm_medium=web&utm_source=wbur.org&utm_term=ad_block_message)\n\n## Most Popular\n1. [20 years after passing nation-leading health care law, Mass. braces for new challenges](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2026\/04\/10\/massachusetts-health-care-law-romneycare)\n   \n   [Local Coverage](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news)\n2. [Invasive insects, disease now kill more trees in the Northeast than logging, study finds](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2026\/04\/10\/insects-disease-trees-northeast-vermont-study)\n   \n   [Local Coverage](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news)\n3. 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[Explore more WBUR newsletters](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/newsletters).\n\n- [© Copyright WBUR 2026](https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/services\/security\/cyber-security\/dmca\/copyright\/)\n- [WBUR Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/inside\/privacy-policy)\n- [Syndication](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/inside\/syndication)\n- [FCC Applications](https:\/\/media.wbur.org\/wp\/2021\/12\/WBUR-FM-FCC-Applications-Tab-01568791xB3D1E.pdf)\n- [FCC Public File](https:\/\/publicfiles.fcc.gov\/fm-profile\/WBUR-FM)\n- [WBUR EEO Reports](https:\/\/publicfiles.fcc.gov\/fm-profile\/WBUR-FM\/equal-employment-opportunity-records\/additional-documents\/eeo-public-file-reports\/137e0968-7b62-c93a-d484-71c68fd6373e)\n- [Public File Assistance](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/inside\/fcc-public-file-information)\n\nThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https:\/\/policies.google.com\/terms) apply.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tr?id=1723321954577947&ev=PageView&noscript=1)","attrs_readable_markdown":"U.S. military planes have carried the last U.S. service members and diplomats from Kabul's airport, [ending America's longest war](https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/npr\/1032367184\/rockets-kabul-airport-deadline-us-troops-bomb).\n\nOrdinary Americans closely watched the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, as they did the start of the war nearly 20 years ago, in the weeks after the 9\/11 attacks. But Americans often tended to forget about the Afghanistan war in between, and it received measurably less oversight from Congress than the Vietnam War did.\n\nThe war's death toll for Afghans and Americans and their NATO allies is in the many tens of thousands, and generations of Americans to come will be paying off its cost, in the trillions of dollars.\n\nHere's a look at the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, by the numbers, as the last Americans deployed there departed.\n\nMuch of the data below is from Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s Kennedy School and from the Brown University [Costs of War project](https:\/\/watson.brown.edu\/costsofwar\/). 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.\n\n## The Longest War\nPercentage of U.S. population born since the 2001 attacks plotted by al-Qaida leaders who were sheltering in Afghanistan: **Roughly 1 out of every 4.**\n\n## The Human Cost\nAfghan civilians killed, through April: **47,245**\n\nAmerican service members killed in Afghanistan: **2,461**\n\nU.S. contractors, through April: **3,846**\n\nAfghan national military and police, through April: **66,000**\n\nOther allied service members, including from other NATO member states, through April: **1,144.**\n\nTaliban and other opposition fighters, through April: **51,191**\n\nAid workers, through April: **444**\n\nJournalists, through April: **72**\n\n## Afghanistan After Nearly 20 Years Of U.S. Occupation\nPercentage 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.\n\nPercentage of Afghan teenage girls able to read today: **37**\n\nPercentage of Afghans with access to electricity in 2005: **22**\n\nIn 2019: **98\\.**\n\nDays before the U.S. withdrawal that the Taliban retook control: **15**\n\n## Oversight By Congress\nDate Congress authorized U.S. forces to go after culprits in Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: **Sept. 18, 2001**\n\nNumber of times U.S. lawmakers have voted to declare war in Afghanistan: **0**\n\nNumber of times lawmakers on Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee addressed costs of Vietnam War, during that conflict: **42**\n\nNumber of times lawmakers in same subcommittee have mentioned costs of Afghanistan and Iraq wars, through mid-summer 2021: **5**\n\nNumber of times lawmakers on Senate Finance Committee have mentioned costs of Afghanistan and Iraq wars since Sept. 11, 2001, through mid-summer 2021: **1**\n\n## Paying For A War On Credit, Not In Cash\nAmount President Harry Truman temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Korean War: **92%**\n\nAmount President Lyndon Johnson temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Vietnam War: **77%**\n\nAmount President George W. Bush cut tax rates for the wealthiest, rather than raise them, at outset of Afghanistan and Iraq wars: **At least 8%**\n\nEstimated amount of direct Afghanistan and Iraq war costs that the United States has debt-financed as of 2020: **\\$2 trillion**\n\nEstimated interest costs by 2050: **Up to \\$6.5 trillion**\n\n## The Wars End. The Costs Don't\nAmount Bilmes estimates the United States will pay in health care, disability, burial and other costs for roughly 4 million Afghanistan and Iraq veterans: **more than \\$2 trillion**\n\nPeriod those costs will peak: **after 2048**","meta_canonical":null}

3. Robots.txt Check

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4. Spam/Ban Check

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5. Seen Status Check

ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled

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INDEXABLE

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CRAWLED

8 days ago

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ROBOTS ALLOWED

Page Info Filters

Filter	Status	Condition	Details
HTTP status	PASS	`download_http_code = 200`	HTTP 200
Age cutoff	PASS	`download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH`	0.3 months ago
History drop	PASS	`isNull(history_drop_reason)`	No drop reason
Spam/ban	PASS	`fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0`	ml_spam_score=0
Canonical	PASS	`meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed`	Not set

Page Details

Property	Value
URL	https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/08/31/afghanistan-war-lives-costs-by-numbers
Last Crawled	2026-04-13 01:49:44 (8 days ago)
First Indexed	2021-08-31 11:29:53 (4 years ago)
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	Costs Of America's Longest War: Thousands Of Lives, Trillions Of Dollars \| WBUR News
Meta Description	The war's death toll for Afghans and Americans and their NATO allies is in the many tens of thousands, and generations of Americans to come will be paying off its cost, in the trillions of dollars.
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	U.S. military planes have carried the last U.S. service members and diplomats from Kabul's airport, ending America's longest war . Ordinary Americans closely watched the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, as they did the start of the war nearly 20 years ago, in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks. But Americans often tended to forget about the Afghanistan war in between, and it received measurably less oversight from Congress than the Vietnam War did. The war's death toll for Afghans and Americans and their NATO allies is in the many tens of thousands, and generations of Americans to come will be paying off its cost, in the trillions of dollars. Here's a look at the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, by the numbers, as the last Americans deployed there departed. Much of the data below is from Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s 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 1 out of every 4. The Human Cost Afghan civilians killed, through April: 47,245 American service members killed in Afghanistan: 2,461 U.S. contractors, through April: 3,846 Afghan national military and police, through April: 66,000 Other allied service members, including from other NATO member states, through April: 1,144. Taliban and other opposition fighters, through April: 51,191 Aid workers, through April: 444 Journalists, through April: 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 Percentage of Afghans with access to electricity in 2005: 22 In 2019: 98. Days before the U.S. withdrawal that the Taliban retook control: 15 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 Don't Amount Bilmes estimates the United States will 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
Markdown	[Skip to main content](https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/08/31/afghanistan-war-lives-costs-by-numbers#main) [Support WBUR. Donate your car. Your unwanted vehicle can drive WBUR forward. Donate your car, boat or truck today. 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[Explore more WBUR newsletters](https://www.wbur.org/newsletters). Support WBUR Advertisements on wbur.org help support the news. Please consider a [donation today\!](https://donate.wbur.org/secure/give?utm_medium=web&utm_source=wbur.org&utm_term=ad_block_message) 1. [Home](https://www.wbur.org/) 2. [Local Coverage](https://www.wbur.org/news) # Costs Of America's Longest War: Thousands Of Lives, Trillions Of Dollars - Ellen Knickmeyer, The Associated Press August 31, 2021 Share This article is more than 4 years old. U.S. military planes have carried the last U.S. service members and diplomats from Kabul's airport, [ending America's longest war](https://www.wbur.org/npr/1032367184/rockets-kabul-airport-deadline-us-troops-bomb). Ordinary Americans closely watched the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, as they did the start of the war nearly 20 years ago, in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks. But Americans often tended to forget about the Afghanistan war in between, and it received measurably less oversight from Congress than the Vietnam War did. The war's death toll for Afghans and Americans and their NATO allies is in the many tens of thousands, and generations of Americans to come will be paying off its cost, in the trillions of dollars. Here's a look at the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, by the numbers, as the last Americans deployed there departed. Much of the data below is from Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s Kennedy School and from the Brown University [Costs of War project](https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/). 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 1 out of every 4. ## The Human Cost Afghan civilians killed, through April: 47,245 American service members killed in Afghanistan: 2,461 U.S. contractors, through April: 3,846 Afghan national military and police, through April: 66,000 Other allied service members, including from other NATO member states, through April: 1,144. Taliban and other opposition fighters, through April: 51,191 Aid workers, through April: 444 Journalists, through April: 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 Percentage of Afghans with access to electricity in 2005: 22 In 2019: 98\. Days before the U.S. withdrawal that the Taliban retook control: 15 ## 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 Don't Amount Bilmes estimates the United States will 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 ## Related: - [The Final U.S. Military Plane Has Left Afghanistan As America's Longest War Ends](https://www.wbur.org/npr/1032367184/rockets-kabul-airport-deadline-us-troops-bomb) - [He Is The Last American Soldier To Leave Afghanistan](https://www.wbur.org/npr/1032683828/the-last-american-soldier-to-leave-afghanistan) - [The Taliban Is Celebrating Its Takeover Now That The U.S. Withdrawal Is Complete](https://www.wbur.org/npr/1032656612/taliban-afghanistan-american-forces-withdrawal) Support WBUR Advertisements on wbur.org help support the news. 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Readable Markdown	U.S. military planes have carried the last U.S. service members and diplomats from Kabul's airport, [ending America's longest war](https://www.wbur.org/npr/1032367184/rockets-kabul-airport-deadline-us-troops-bomb). Ordinary Americans closely watched the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, as they did the start of the war nearly 20 years ago, in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks. But Americans often tended to forget about the Afghanistan war in between, and it received measurably less oversight from Congress than the Vietnam War did. The war's death toll for Afghans and Americans and their NATO allies is in the many tens of thousands, and generations of Americans to come will be paying off its cost, in the trillions of dollars. Here's a look at the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, by the numbers, as the last Americans deployed there departed. Much of the data below is from Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s Kennedy School and from the Brown University [Costs of War project](https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/). 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 1 out of every 4. ## The Human Cost Afghan civilians killed, through April: 47,245 American service members killed in Afghanistan: 2,461 U.S. contractors, through April: 3,846 Afghan national military and police, through April: 66,000 Other allied service members, including from other NATO member states, through April: 1,144. Taliban and other opposition fighters, through April: 51,191 Aid workers, through April: 444 Journalists, through April: 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 Percentage of Afghans with access to electricity in 2005: 22 In 2019: 98\. Days before the U.S. withdrawal that the Taliban retook control: 15 ## 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 Don't Amount Bilmes estimates the United States will 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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