Afghanistan Air Strikes Deadlier Under Trump

In the waning days of his Presidency, President Trump has made withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan a priority — even against the advice of senior Pentagon officials.  But the President’s renewed efforts to make good on his campaign promise of bringing the troops home masks how much deadlier the Afghanistan War — the longest […]

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In the waning days of his Presidency, President Trump has made withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan a priority — even against the advice of senior Pentagon officials.  But the President’s renewed efforts to make good on his campaign promise of bringing the troops home masks how much deadlier the Afghanistan War — the longest foreign conflict in U.S. history — has become under President Trump’s watch.  After Trump revised the rules of engagement after assuming office in 2017, Afghani civilian death tolls have steadily climbed.  In 2019 alone, U.S. and allied Air Force strikes killed at least 700 civilians — more civilians than in any other year since the beginning of the war in 2001 and 2002.  Neta C. Crawford is the Chair of the Political Science Department at Boston University and Co-Director of the Eisenhower Institute’s Cost of War project.  Crawford recently authored a detailed study of Afghani civilian casualties under the Trump Administration.

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