Current US interest in a peace process in Afghanistan come amid a
massive escalation. The US air war is continuing to pick up pace, with
the number of US strikes already at their highest level in a decade.
In 2018, US officials report that 7,362 weapons were dropped on
Afghanistan in various air campaigns. This is the highest number of
strikes since the Pentagon started releasing figures, in 2009.
The escalation of the air war was facilitated in particular by the
decline of ISIS territory in Iraq and Syria, as this freed up a lot of
warplanes that were relocated further east to Afghanistan, where more
targets were available.
As a practical matter though, the airstrikes have done little to help
matters on the ground, as the Pentagon has consistently confirmed that
Afghan forces have been losing ground. It is this growing loss that has
the US looking to settle the war.
US Airstrikes in Afghanistan Highest in a Decade Amid Peace Talks
7,362 weapons dropped in strikes in 2018
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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