By the Numbers: The Afghanistan War’s Impact on N.Y.
Sam Lewis | Metrofocus
The U.S War in Afghanistan is out of sight and out of mind for many New Yorkers, but this year, just as we marked the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11, we must also mark the passing of a decade at war. On Oct. 7, 2001, the U.S. and its allies invaded Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In 2003 American forces invaded Iraq. More than two million U.S. troops have been sent to the region since 2001.
The War in Afghanistan is the most prolonged conflict in American history. In June, President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would begin withdrawing 33,000 troops from Afghanistan, which were part of the "surge" that he sent to Afghanistan in 2009. The U.S. is on course to transfer its responsibilities to Afghan forces by 2014.
On the 10-year anniversary of the war, MetroFocus mined the numbers for a look at how the U.S. conflicts in the Middle East have directly affected New York state.
>> FULL GRAPHIC OF IMPACT ACROSS THE CITY AT THIRTEEN.ORG
Image by MetroFocus/Ricardo Galvez
MetroFocus culled data from: U.S. Department of Defense (Contingency Tracking System Deployment File, Aug. 31 2011); Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the New York State Health Foundation (New York's Newest Veterans June 2011), National Priorities Project and ICasualties.org (Iraq Coalition Casualty Count).
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