Coronavirus has now killed more Americans than Afghanistan war, death toll could soon surpass 9/11 attacks
The outbreak of the deadly coronavirus has left the US in deep shock. The country is now leading in terms of the most number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, while the death toll has gone past 2,500.
In fact, the death toll of 2,479 on March 29, as reported by Johns Hopkins University, saw the number of casualties surpassing that registered in the Afghanistan war. While the 2,445 casualties in the Afghanistan war took place over a period of 18 years and more, the deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic happened in just a few months.
The Afghanistan-related casualties were recorded among Pentagon personnel and civilians as a result of the Washington-led military intervention in the Asian nation and related missions between October 7, 2001, and March 23 this year.
President Donald Trump has found himself with a very challenging task of arresting the spread of the coronavirus and amid the pandemic that has claimed over 0.72 million people worldwide, his efforts to conclude a historic peace process in Afghanistan have also struggled.
Over 34,000 lives have been lost to coronavirus globally and over 143,000 confirmed cases have been registered in the US.
Early on March 30, coronavirus spread continued unabated in the US and the country’s death toll reached 2,514 and if the trends persist, the death toll of the 9/11 terror attacks will soon be surpassed as well.
In the 2001 air-borne terror attacks on the US, an estimated 2,996 people were killed, including 19 hijackers. The war in Afghanistan started soon after when the US retaliated against the Al-Qaeda of the now deceased Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the attacks.
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The deadliest conflict in the US’ history was the Civil War of the mid-19th century. An estimated 620,000 people died in the clashes between the Union government and the breakaway Confederacy. Besides, many troops were also killed in a disease between 1861 and 1865.
Trump, who was mulling to lift the social distancing restrictions last week to enable the economy to function again, said in a press briefing on March 29 that the US was yet to see the worst. He said the peak in the death rate is likely to be seen in two weeks. His words found support in the sinister prediction of Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key member of the president’s coronavirus taskforce who said as many as 200,000 people could die. The President also said that up to 2.2 million may die without government intervention.
America’s defense establishment has been hit as several in the Pentagon have reportedly tested positive for the disease and the military has started taking drastic steps to curb the outbreak through its ranks. The Army has started withdrawing from frontline bases in Iraq where tensions have grown between them and the local militia opposed to foreign military presence.
Trump has shown an intent to pull out troops from foreign countries but it has not been easy. His adventure in Syria received a backlash while the elimination of a top Iranian general in January saw Washington’s situation coming under intense challenge in the Middle East, including in Iraq where it has a friendly government in place.