American losses in Afghanistan were 2.3%. The UK lost 455 lives, which was 4.7% of its peak deployment level, while the 158 Canadians killed represented 5.4% of their total. Nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians were killed. 40% of the civilian casualties from US and Afghan airstrikes between 2016 and 2020 were children. “What is clear is that Afghanistan proved to be not only a graveyard for British troops. Coalition military forces there also were part of making it a graveyard for countless Afghan civilians.” British troops were twice as likely to be killed in Afghanistan as US forces
afghanistan has been a devourer of empires since the time alaxander crossed it to invade india. i don't like the taliban, at least i think i don't. i don't like the desicration of ancient buddhist sites, and i don't like the dominance of aggressiveness no matter who's doing it. afganistan is an object lesson in the irrationality of empire. has been probably longer then there's been a country there, and that's a long time as in thousands of years.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Afghani's don't go picking fights. I imagine if we just left them alone....
