America’s begun its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and now people are counting the war’s colossal cost

The United States has formally begun withdrawing its last troops from Afghanistan, bringing its longest war nearer to an end but leaving an uncertain future for the fragile democracy. 

While US officials on the ground have said the withdrawal is already a work in progress, Washington has made an issue of a May 1 commencement because the date was a previous deadline the Trump administration agreed with the Taliban. 

NATO troops have also begun the withdrawal, which began on Thursday. 

The two-decade-long conflict in Afghanistan…