![\"Afghanistan,](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-129094665,imgsize-85180,width-400,resizemode-4\/representative-ai-image.jpg\" "\\".\\"")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn the years since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States has carried out military strikes, wars and air campaigns across multiple regions, reshaping global geopolitics and defining American foreign policy for more than two decades. Under four presidents, Washington has fought full-scale wars, conducted drone campaigns and launched air strikes across several continents as part of what former US President George W Bush described as the \u201cwar on terror.\u201dAccording to an analysis referenced by Al Jazeera, the United States has bombed at least 10 countries since 2001. These include Afghanistan, Iraq<\/a>, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Venezuela, Nigeria and Iran. The strikes have ranged from large-scale invasions and air campaigns to targeted drone operations and missile strikes. <\/p>\n US Military Unleashes First ‘TORPEDO’ Strike Since WWII; IRIS Dena Sunk<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Despite repeated political pledges by successive administrations to reduce American involvement in overseas conflicts, the pattern of military engagement has continued across different presidencies.\u201cSince the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the US capital, the US has engaged in three full-scale wars and bombed at least 10 countries in operations ranging from drone strikes to invasions, often multiple times within a single year,\u201d according to Al Jazeera. The renewed military confrontation involving the United States, Israel and Iran has once again brought attention to the scale and cost of American military interventions since 2001.<\/p>\n The attacks carried out by al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, triggered one of the most significant shifts in American foreign policy in modern history. Within weeks, President George W Bush announced a global campaign against terrorism that would involve military action across multiple regions.Bush described the effort as a \u201cwar on terror,\u201d framing it as a long-term campaign against militant organisations and states accused of supporting them.The strategy led to large-scale wars, covert operations, drone strikes and military partnerships around the world. The conflicts expanded over time, involving not just Afghanistan and Iraq but also several countries where Washington carried out counterterrorism operations.According to Brown University\u2019s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, US-led wars since 2001 have caused enormous human and financial costs.<\/p>\n Research conducted by Brown University\u2019s Costs of War project estimates that nearly 940,000 people have died directly in the wars connected to the US-led campaign since 2001.\u201cAccording to an analysis by Brown University\u2019s Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs, US-led wars since 2001 have directly caused the deaths of about 940,000 people across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and other conflict zones.\u201dThese figures account for direct deaths resulting from combat, air strikes and other war-related violence. However, the actual human toll is likely much higher.The estimate does not include indirect deaths, such as those caused by the collapse of healthcare systems, food shortages, displacement, disease or infrastructure destruction during prolonged conflicts.Millions of civilians were also displaced during these wars, contributing to refugee crises that affected regions far beyond the original battle zones.<\/p>\n The financial cost of the United States\u2019 military campaigns since 2001 has been enormous.According to the Costs of War project, the United States has spent an estimated $5.8 trillion funding conflicts linked to the war on terror over the past two decades.This spending includes multiple categories of military and security expenditure:<\/p>\n In addition to the $5.8 trillion already spent, analysts estimate that the United States will spend at least another $2.2 trillion over the next three decades on veterans\u2019 healthcare and related support.If those projected costs are included, the total financial burden of US wars since 2001 could reach nearly $8 trillion.<\/p>\n The first major military response to the September 11 attacks was the invasion of Afghanistan.On October 7, 2001, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom, aiming to dismantle the al-Qaeda network and remove the Taliban from power for sheltering its leadership.The initial phase of the war moved quickly. Within weeks, US forces and allied Afghan groups succeeded in overthrowing the Taliban government.However, the conflict soon evolved into a prolonged insurgency. Taliban fighters regrouped and began waging a sustained campaign against US and NATO forces.Over the next two decades, the war became the longest military conflict in American history, lasting across four US presidencies.According to the Costs of War project, approximately 241,000 people died directly in the Afghanistan war.The conflict also resulted in significant military casualties. At least 3,586 soldiers from the United States and NATO allies were killed during the war.Financially, the Afghanistan conflict cost the United States an estimated $2.26 trillion.In 2021, the United States completed its final troop withdrawal, ending its two-decade military presence. Shortly afterwards, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, effectively reversing the original outcome of the invasion.<\/p>\nThe war on terror and the transformation of US foreign policy<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
The human cost of two decades of war<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
The financial cost: Trillions of dollars spent<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n
Afghanistan: America\u2019s longest war<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
The Iraq war and the search for weapons of mass destruction<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n