The Afghan
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Originally published | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Frederick Forsyth |
| Page count | 343 |
| Publishers | Bantam Press |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Novel |
| Fiction | |
| Thriller | |
| Suspense | |
| Liked | |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 1066513 |
About The Afghan
The Afghan is a 2006 thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth.
David McBride: Australian war crimes whistleblower pleads guilty
... The information he provided underpinned a series of reports in 2017 called The Afghan Files, which gave unprecedented insight into the operations of Australia s elite special forces in Afghanistan, and contained allegations of war crimes...
Top general locked away evidence of SAS executions
... In evidence to the High Court in 2020, as part of a case brought by one of The Afghan families whose relatives were killed in a night raid, Col Robert Morris of the Royal Military Police said that the controlled access compartment created by Gen Jenkins had prevented the RMP from accessing the evidence for years...
World Cup 2023: Afghanistan's dazzling run captivates cricket
... Now they have won four, including one each against defending champions and, where some of The Afghan players first encountered the game as refugees...
Afghan refugees forced to leave Pakistan say they have nothing
... The Afghan Ministry of Refugees intends to register returnees and house them in temporary camps, while the Taliban administration will try and find returnees jobs...
First flight bringing Afghan refugees from Pakistan lands in UK
... All are part of either The Afghan citizens resettlement scheme or Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy...
The Gulf state at centre of delicate hostage talks
... I remember reporting on it in 2013 when the Taliban infuriated The Afghan government in Kabul by raising their white flag inside their compound in Doha...
UK to charter flights for Afghan refugees stuck in Pakistan
... Among The Afghan refugees in Pakistan are former translators for the British army and teachers for the British council, all part of either the or...
Four British men freed after Afghanistan detention
... Mr Richards told the BBC earlier this year the weapon was being stored with a licence issued by The Afghan interior ministry but that the license was missing...
Afghanistan: Has it cost America $500bn?
The US has been fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2001
The US military has spent billions of dollars since 2001 fighting the Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan.
There's now uncertainty over diplomatic efforts to bring an end to America's military presence there after an upsurge in violence.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said The War has "cost the United States government and society $500bn".
How accurate is this figure and how might it have been Reached ?
US troop levels in Afghanistan2002 - 2018
Source: Special Inspector General for Afghanistan ReconstructionThe US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, accusing the Taliban of harbouring Osama bin Laden and senior al-Qaeda figures linked to the 9/11 attacks.
They removed the Taliban from power, after which the militant group started a long-running insurgency across the country.
US troop numbers in Afghanistan grew as Washington poured in billions of dollars to fight the Taliban and fund reconstruction.
Between 2010 to 2012, when the US for a time had More Than 100,000 soldiers in the country, the cost of The War grew to almost $100bn a Year , according to figures provided by the US government.
As the US military shifted its focus away from offensive operations and concentrated More on training Afghan forces, costs fell sharply and between 2016 and 2018 annual expenditure was around $40bn.
The estimated spend for the Year to March 2019 is $18bn.
US cost of war in Afghanistan2001 - 2019
Source: US Department of DefenseSo, according to the US Department of Defense, the Total military expenditure in Afghanistan (from October 2001 until March 2019) was $760bn.
That's significantly More Than the figure given by The Afghan president.
But it doesn't include spending in Pakistan, which the US uses as a base for Afghan-related operations.
An argues that the official US figures for The Afghan war are a substantial underestimate.
It says that Congress has approved funds amounting to about one trillion dollars for Afghanistan as well as for Pakistan.
Neta Crawford , co-director of the Cost of The War Project, also says this "does not include any of The Other costs for war veterans' care, money spent on other government departments for war-related activities and the cost of interest on debt incurred to pay for The Conflict ,"
If you factor this in, the cost is closer to two trillion dollars, she adds.
Where has The Money gone?The bulk of The Money has been spent on counter-insurgency operations, and on the needs of US troops, such as food, clothing, medical care, special pay and benefits.
Official data shows the US has also contributed approximately $133bn -16% of all money spent in The Last 17 years - to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
And More Than half of that ($83bn) has gone on building up Afghan security forces, including The Afghan National Army and police Force .
Afghan security forces have suffered heavy casualtiesThe rest has been mainly spent on improving governance and infrastructure, as well as on economic and humanitarian aid and anti-drug initiatives.
The US has spent on average $1. 5m day - or nearly $9bn since 2002 Until June this Year - on anti-narcotics efforts,
In 2017, the US watchdog responsible for the oversight of reconstruction efforts
That figure is probably "only a portion" of the Total waste, according to the watchdog, which added that US money "often exacerbated conflicts, enabled corruption, and bolstered support for insurgents".
What about the human cost?Since The War against the Taliban began in 2001, US forces have suffered 2,300 deaths and around 20,500 soldiers injured in action.
According to official figures, approximately 14,000 US Military Personnel were in Afghanistan as of June 2018, but there were also nearly 11,000 US civilians who were working as contractors.
But US casualty figures are dwarfed by the loss of life among Afghan security forces and civilians.
President Ghani said this Year that More Than 45,000 members of The Afghan security forces had been killed since he became president in 2014.
Total civilian casualties in Afghanistan2009 - 2019*
Source: UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (*2019 casualties to 30 Jun)Mr Ghani's decision to reveal casualty figures was unusual, as the US and Afghan governments don't normally publish Afghan death tolls.
have been very high in recent years, sometimes averaging 30-40 deaths A Day .
, More Than 32,000 civilians have been killed and about 60,000 injured since it began systematically recording civilian casualties in 2009 .
afghanistan, reality check, war in afghanistan (2001-present)
Source of news: bbc.com
