ISAS Insights

The ongoing drawdown of American troops in Afghanistan foreshadows the culmination of what has been the longest US military engagement since Vietnam. This ‘retrograde’ process, which is due for completion towards the end of 2014, will ultimately see the US spend anywhere between US$ 4 trillion and US$ 6 trillion on conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, with a major portion of this sum still pending payment. In an era of budget cuts, sequesters, debt-ceiling and government shutdowns, these conflicts have added US$ 2 trillion to the United States’ national debt and burdened the nation with long-term financial obligations. Given the high cost of engagement, the US and its coalition partners would want to protect their legacy in Afghanistan and safeguard it from reversal following the drawdown in 2014.