Trump surpasses Obama's 2010 record of 5,101 bombs dropped on Afghans in just three quarters of 2018.

                                                                                  By: AbdulKarīm Ādam

Ever since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 by the Bush jnr led administration the American government have seen bravery, patience, intelligence, team work and spirit, well coordinated attacks from a handful of Taliban Mujahidden.

 17 years on more than half of Afghanistan is under the control of the Taliban in a war overseen by three US Presidents, 11 secretary of defense, over 15 commanders, and numerous rank and file soldiers is the longest war the United States have fought, it has caused the American economy $6 trillion.

In 2009 in what Obama terms the "deteriorating security situation in the region which required urgent attention and swift action" he deployed additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan taking the number of US troops that served in Afghanistan to far over hundred of thousands. By late 2016 in a defeated and shameful manner the Obama administration said it withdrew the troops leaving behind less than 8,500, a number the next administration rejected and said it far above that.

Trump sent more troops to fight the Taliban and currently approximately 14,000 U.S. troops are still serving there in an attempt to 'contain a growing wave of extremism'. Even though the conflict has been making fewer headlines in recent years, the U.S. has never dropped as many bombs on Afghanistan as it did this year. According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command data, manned and unmanned aircraft released 5,213 weapons between January and the end of September 2018.

In an infograph released by Niall McCarthy a Data journalist covering technological, societal and media topics, he said previously, 2010 held the record for weapons dropped on Afghanistan with 5,101 releases recorded in total. That was a deadly year which saw 711 ISAF troops and 1,271 civilians killed. Towards the end of Obama's presidency, the number of bombs dropped declined with 947 instances in 2015 and 1,337 in 2016.

Since President Trump announced a new Afghan strategy last August and committed more troops to the country, the number of bombs dropped by the U.S. coalition has surged dramatically. The increase is primarily due to a change in the rules of engagement which allows coalition forces to open fire on the enemy without being in contact with them. That change was orchestrated by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis who wants to remove such restrictions to employ air power more effectively.

Unfortunately, the change in the rules combined with a higher pace of airstrikes by the Afghan Air Force (not included on the following infographic) has also led to more civilian deaths. Last month, the UN announced that the number of civilian casualties in the first nine months of 2018 is higher than in any year since it started documenting them in 2009.

This unending war has brought shame and defeat to America as they call for peace talks with the handful of Taliban fighters.