The counter-terrorism war has killed more than five hundred thousand

Islamabad: More than 500,000 people have been killed in the counter-terrorism actions by the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan over the last 17 years. As per the ‘Cost of War’ report published by Brown University, the total number of people killed directly or indirectly due to the effects of this war is more than a million. The report also says that this information is only the tip of an iceberg. The proportion of the lost human lives has increased by 22% in the last two years.

The United States declared the war against terror after the 9/11 attacks and invaded Afghanistan. This has completed 17 years. Within a few months of the Afghanistan attack, the United States attacked Iraq. After it was exposed that the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists have their bases in northwestern Pakistan, the United States carried out air attacks even in Pakistan. The Cost of War report published by Brown University claims that 507,000 people have lost their lives in these wars so far.

These include terrorists, US soldiers, US mercenary soldiers, local military and police personnel and also some innocent civilians. The Cost of War report claims that the number of people dead, due to the other effects of these wars is nearly equal to the number killed directly in the wars. Therefore, the report says that the number of people killed because of these wars is more than a million. This apparently goes to show that the war is intensifying furthermore.

The number of people killed in the war in Afghanistan is 147,000 over the last 17 years. 6,334 US military and mercenaries have been killed in the war. The countries entering the war under the US leadership have lost 1,100 personnel in Afghanistan. The number of people killed in Iraq is between 267,000 and 295,000.

The war against terror has cost 65,000 lives in Pakistan, and they include 9,000 personnel from the Pakistani security agencies. More than 23,000 Pakistani citizens have been killed in this war. 90 US mercenaries have also been killed in these wars.

The report also claims that the deaths have increased by 22% in the last two years. The report has accused the US citizens and media of indifference towards the severe repercussions of these wars. President Trump during his election campaign had declared that the army would be withdrawn from Afghanistan if he became the President. But Trump was forced to change his stance after becoming the President.

Saying that the picture looks different after becoming the President, Trump accepted the inevitability of the Afghanistan war. He also made the crushing criticism that the United States is not gaining success in the war against Terror because of the secret assistance provided by Pakistan to the terrorists. Before Trump took over as the President, the then President Barack Obama had decided to end the war against terror and recall the US army personnel from Iraq. The terrorist organisation IS spread its wings in Iraq following the US army withdrawal. Within a few months, President Obama had to accept that the decision to withdraw the army from Afghanistan was wrong.

The senior US military officials and diplomats are pointing out to the people demanding to stop this war- because of its devastating effects; the bloodshed will be increased if this war ends. The US officials and statesmen are referring to the genocide carried out by the ISIS that occurred after the US military withdrawal from Iraq.