A question increasingly being raised by political analysts and media commentators is: Will America return to Afghanistan? After its bitterly fought, two-decade-long war in Afghanistan, the United States’ abrupt withdrawal in 2021, and the enormous human and financial cost of that conflict, would Washington ever contemplate making the same mistake again?

To answer this important question, one must first examine what the United States actually gained — and what it lost — during its 20-year military engagement in Afghanistan. The figures speak for themselves and present a staggering picture of the cost of America’s longest war.

According to estimates widely reported in the international media and research by Brown University’s Costs of War Project, the United States spent approximately $2.26 trillion on the Afghanistan war and related costs. This included more than $900 billion in........

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