Central Asia

1 conflicts · $2.3T total cost

$2.3T

Total Cost

2,461

US Deaths

176,000

Civilian Deaths

1

Conflicts

1

Authorized

0

Unauthorized

📖 Pattern of US Intervention in Central Asia

Afghanistan — America's longest war — dominates Central Asian involvement. Twenty years, $2.3 trillion, and 2,461 American deaths produced exactly nothing: the Taliban returned to power within weeks of withdrawal. The Afghanistan experience should be the definitive case study against nation-building by military force.

Cost by Conflict (Billions, 2023 $)

Deaths by Conflict

🗺️ Countries

AfghanistanTaliban

⚔️ Conflicts in Central Asia

War in Afghanistan

DefeatWar on Terror

2001–2021 · $2.3T · 2,461 US deaths

America's longest war. Launched after 9/11 to destroy al-Qaeda and topple the Taliban. 20 years and $2.3 trillion later, the Taliban retook the country in 11 days.

🗣️ Voices from Central Asia

“We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan — we didn't know what we were doing.”

— Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, White House War Czar (Afghanistan Papers) (Afghanistan)