It’s been 17 years since the U.S first sent troops into Afghanistan to stabilize the area, a notion caused by the results of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Even though U.S envoys have finally met with one of the co-founders of the Taliban this year, the war and violence continues to erupt within the country. Death rates have been continually high, and much of the population is suffering from famine and seasonal drought. However, armed rebel groups remain to be the most violent threat, and they are held responsible for the deaths of two American soldiers last week.
When Americans refer to the U.S war in Afghanistan, it’s surprising that the dialogue takes place in the past tense, as if the war has ended. This is in fact not the case. Four American Soldiers have died in Afghanistan in the last three months, with a total of nearly 2500 deaths among soldiers total ever since the conflict began. While this may seem rather insignificant when compared to other international conflicts the U.S has gotten involved in, the amount of soldier deaths alone goes to show that these issues can’t just simply be overlooked.
Another statistic to look at is not the number of American deaths, but the civilian deaths as well. While most of the developed world sees Afghanistan as war torn and violent, much of the population doesn’t actively participate in the fighting (as with most intranational conflict). Last year alone, 3804 civilians lost their lives due to violence from the conflict, the highest annual recording. In total, it is estimated that there are 31,000 civilian casualties as a result of rebel conflict. The war may be settling down, but it is far from over, despite the United States attempts at diplomacy.
President Trump has made claims that he will withdraw as many as 14,000 troops from Afghanistan this year, which could go either way. For the citizens of the country. On one hand, the decreased amount of U.S troops would mean less fighting between them and rebels. This would leave less civilians exposed to that violence. However, should rebel groups begin fighting against one another, the conflict could grow out o control if left unchecked, and civilians may be more at risk of injury and death due to warfare. It’s unclear at the moment whether this presidential decision will go into effect, but the results of such a decision remain even cloudier.