Over 5,000 people have been killed in incidents related to reconstruction and stabilization efforts in Afghanistan since 2002, according to the first official government count of the human toll of U.S.-led efforts.
The report conducted by the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that the majority of casualties occurred during the height of the reconstruction efforts between 2008 and 2011.
The SIGAR investigation found that 2,214 people were killed and 2,921 were wounded in reconstruction-related attacks, and 1,182 individuals were kidnapped or went missing between 2002 and the end of 2018.
“An additional 245 U.S. service members and 76 U.S. civilians were wounded; 100 other Coalition service members were killed and 105 wounded; another 124 third country nationals were killed, 87 wounded and 59 kidnapped,” the report said.
The new figures come as peace talks between the U.S., Taliban and Afghan government appear to be progressing. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday said he was told by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the negotiations to withdraw U.S. troops from the country have been making “notable progress.”
Mr. Pompeo “informed me about the Taliban’s proposal with regards to bringing a significant and enduring reduction in violence,” Mr. Ghani said in a tweet, adding that the “primary objective is to end the senseless bloodshed.”
The Trump administration has pushed for an agreement that would withdraw some of the more than 12,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but both sides have walked away each time a deal appeared close.
The withdrawal of American forces has been a key demand of Taliban leaders throughout the negotiation process, while the U.S. has insisted that the radical Islamist group agree to a full cease-fire and negotiate directly with the U.S.-backed Afghan government in Kabul.
Prospects for a U.S.-Taliban deal seemed imminent in early September when Mr. Trump had invited Taliban leaders to a Camp David summit to announce an agreement. But those plans were scrapped at the last minute after Taliban attacks targeted Americans in Afghanistan.
The 18-year Afghan war is the longest in American history, but the U.S.-backed Kabul government continues to rebuild the economy or subdue the radical Islamist Taliban insurgency.
According to SIGAR’s report, the two deadliest casualty-producing events related to rebuilding efforts were attacks in 2011 “on a U.S.-funded road construction contractor compound that killed 35 and wounded 20 Afghans, and a suicide bomber on a … road construction project that left 28 members of a construction crew dead and 35 wounded.”
The Pentagon watchdog cautioned, however, that the report does not “adequately capture the human cost of conducting reconstruction and stabilization projects while combat operations are still ongoing, especially third-country nationals and Afghans,” despite considerable effort is made to track the amount of U.S. dollars spent.
“Unless the U.S. government considers the human costs, the true costs of reconstruction and stabilization efforts in Afghanistan are not accurately captured.”
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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