copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-20): The Afghan Army Collapsed In Days. Here Are The Reasons Why The quick collapse of the Afghan National Army stunned many, including the Pentagon's top military officer, Gen. Mark Milley. He told reporters this week that the U.S. intelligence community estimated that if U.S. forces withdrew, it would be weeks, months, even years before the Afghan military fell to the Taliban. [...] The Afghans could do little without U.S. support. The U.S. soldiers in the field knew the truth. But during this time, from the Defense Department to the White House to Congress, officials had the same thing to say: The Afghan army is getting better every day. They are fighting hard. They are leading.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-19): Here's what 20 years of war has done to the Afghan people. As the US withdraws its troops, we look at the latest figures on human suffering. [...] Over the 20-year war, 50 NATO and partner nations contributed forces to the missions in Afghanistan. At its peak in 2011, nearly 140,000 US and allied forces were in the country. [...] The war in Afghanistan is estimated to have cost the US $2.26 trillion to date, according to the Cost of War project. The bulk of the spending, $933bn, was allocated to the US Department of Defense war budget, later supplemented by another $443bn.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-16): The US spent $2 trillion in Afghanistan – and for what? [...] Since 2001, the US has spent $2.26 trillion in Afghanistan, the Costs of War Project at Brown University calculates. The biggest chunk – nearly $1 trillion – was consumed by the Overseas Contingency Operations budget for the Department of Defense. The second biggest line item – $530bn – is the estimated interest payments on the money the US government borrowed to fund the war. [...] If that return weren’t poor enough for the US, the Afghan army and the government it was meant to protect have now collapsed. President Ashraf Ghani has fled the country and the Taliban are taking selfies behind his desk. This is what a $2 trillion investment has yielded for the US: a chaotic, humiliating end to a 20-year war.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-19): The United States has spent about $2.26 trillion between 2001 and 2021 on the war in Afghanistan according to an analysis by Brown University’s Costs of War project. [...] The project found that the United States since 2001 has spent about $2.26 trillion on the Afghanistan war. The total includes interest on war borrowing and $296 billion for veterans’ care. The total figure does not include lifetime care for veterans or future interest payments on money borrowed to pay for the war. [...] AP, Counting the costs of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan, April 30, 2021
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-09-03): With the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and the takeover by the Taliban, we've looked at how much the US and its Nato allies have spent in the country in 20 years of military operations. [...] He said: "After more than $2 trillion spent in Afghanistan... [or] you could take the number of $1tn, as many say." [...] As the US military shifted its focus away from offensive operations and concentrated more on training up Afghan forces, costs fell sharply to about $45bn in recent years.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-10-07): The U.S. War in Afghanistan Twenty Years On: Public Opinion Then and Now Twenty years ago today, the United States launched airstrikes against the Taliban. Dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom, it was the start of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. No one knew at the time it would become the longest war in U.S. history. The departure of the last U.S. troops from Afghanistan this past August has spurred debates over the war’s wisdom. Whatever history’s judgment, what shouldn’t be forgotten is that the American public supported the entry into a war it understood might be long and difficult. [...] In all, nearly 2,400 U.S. troops and more than 46,300 Afghan civilians were killed over two decades of fighting. The United States spent more than $2.3 trillion dollars seeking to remake Afghanistan. That blood and treasure cannot be forgotten or regained. On this anniversary, it’s worth remembering that robust public support at the start of a war does not guarantee public support at its end.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-16): - They are very expensive. For example, all war-related costs for U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan over the last two decades are estimated to be $6.4 trillion.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-14): The United States spent $2.26 trillion on the war in Afghanistan, trying to rebuild the Afghan government and train its military, according to the Costs of War project. Ivo Daalder, who served as a U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013, said after 20 years of investments, the Afghan state could still not defend itself.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2024-08-15): Richard Ojeda stated on August 15, 2021 in a tweet The United States spent "2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. Richard Hudson stated on September 1, 2021 in a Facebook post Says U.S. left 33 Black Hawks to the Taliban, which has more than "85%" of all countries. Charles Schumer stated on September 3, 2021 in an interview with WSYR-TV "All" Americans in Afghanistan who "have wanted to come out have come out." The Gateway Pundit stated on August 27, 2021 in a Facebook post U.S. veteran group rescued Afghan allies "behind Biden’s back." Viral image stated on August 29, 2021 in a Facebook post The U.S. left the Taliban an "arsenal" in Afghanistan, including 358,530 assault rifles and 22,174 Humvees. X posts stated on August 30, 2021 in tweets A video shows the "Taliban hanging someone from a helicopter." Viral image stated on August 27, 2021 in a Facebook post Photos show the U.S. service members killed in a 2021 suicide bombing in Kabul. Load more [...] Richard Ojeda stated on August 15, 2021 in a tweet The United States spent "2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-15): The $2 trillion figure is considered credible for the 20-year U.S engagement in Afghanistan, but it includes much more than just training and equipping the military. [...] "We did not spend $2 trillion to train and equip the Afghan military," Harrison said. "The cost of training and equipping the Afghan’s is a relatively small subset of the total cost. The vast majority of the costs for the war were for the operation of our own forces and support for our own service members." [...] Ojeda said the U.S. had "2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2023-11-02): The war and nation building effort in Afghanistan cost the United States an estimated $975 billion between 2001 and 2019, with an average annual cost of over $54 billion.1 When indirect costs including veterans care, Homeland Security spending, and debt interest are added, the Afghanistan campaign will cost taxpayers an estimated $2.5 trillion, including approximately $12.5 billion annually for the next 40 years as we continue to pay for veteran disability and care.2 [...] As part of the security force assistance mission, the U.S. has spent over $13.7 billion providing the Afghan government with equipment in an effort to create a modern military force. Afghanistan received 600,000 weapons like rifles and grenade launchers, 163,000 radios, 76,000 Humvees and mine resistance vehicles, and 208 helicopters and airplanes, among much else.80 Unfortunately, a great deal of the equipment the U.S. provides to the Afghan government is for a military force it cannot possibly hope to sustain independently, and arguably doesn’t need given the rudimentary technology of its insurgent foe. In fact, SIGAR found that "providing advanced weapons and management systems to a largely illiterate and undereducated force without also providing the appropriate training and institutional infrastructure created long-term dependencies, required increased U.S. financial support, and hampered efforts to make the ANDSF [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces] self-sustaining."81And given that the $4.8 billion Afghan defense budget for 2020 is already funded almost entirely by NATO members, it is clear that long-term Afghan independence is not even a consideration.82
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-20): Nearly 20 years of war, 10 days to fall: Afghanistan, by the numbers [...] The total ongoing cost to the United States of the Afghan war is more than $2 trillion, per Brown, which includes operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. It includes some reconstruction costs but not future obligations toward lifetime care for American veterans or future interest payments on money borrowed to fund the war. A 2021 report by SIGAR, citing the Defense Department, said the United States had spent some $837 billion on warfighting alone. [...] The number of Afghan military personnel trained by the United States to date. "We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong — incredibly well equipped — a force larger in size than the militaries of many of our NATO allies," Biden said in an address to the nation Aug. 16, 2021.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-16): In the 20 years since September 11, 2001, the United States has spent more than $2 trillion on the war in Afghanistan. That’s $300 million dollars per day, every day, for two decades. Or $50,000 for each of Afghanistan's 40 million people. In baser terms, Uncle Sam has spent more keeping the Taliban at bay than the net worths of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and the 30 richest billionaires in America, combined. Those headline numbers include $800 billion in direct war-fighting costs and $85 billion to train the vanquished Afghan army, which folded in the weeks since the Pentagon’s sudden early July closure of Bagram Air Force Base eliminated the promise of air support against the advancing Taliban. U.S. taxpayers have been giving Afghan soldiers $750 million a year in payroll. All told, Brown University’s Costs of War Project estimates the total spending at $2.26 trillion. [...] We’ll keep incurring costs long after President Biden's pullout from Afghanistan is complete. Naturally, the United States has financed the Afghan war with borrowed money. Brown University researchers estimate that more than $500 billion in interest has already been paid (included in the $2.26 trillion total sum), and they figure that by 2050 the cost of interest alone on our Afghan war debt could reach $6.5 trillion. That amounts to $20,000 for each and every U.S. citizen.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2022-11-03): The American war in Afghanistan incurred staggering costs — for the United States, Afghans and others — over two decades. The U.S. government spent $2.3 trillion, and the war led to the deaths of 2,324 U.S. military personnel, 3,917 U.S. contractors and 1,144 allied troops. For Afghans, the statistics are nearly unimaginable: 70,000 Afghan military and police deaths, 46,319 Afghan civilians (although that is likely a significant underestimation) and some 53,000 opposition fighters killed. Almost 67,000 other people were killed in Pakistan in relation to the Afghan war. [...] The reasons for U.S. inattention to a comprehensive political settlement shifted over the 20-year intervention. In the immediate wake of the attacks on 9/11 and the swift ousting of the Taliban government, "the focus was on building a new government in Kabul" and its legitimacy, Salikuddin said. "Even when senior Taliban leaders offered to surrender in exchange for amnesty, there was no space for consideration of it because ‘we were winning’ and ‘we would beat the terrorists.’ No one expected the Taliban would come back as a major threat."
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-16): Over the past two decades, the US spent more than a trillion dollars in Afghanistan. It trained Afghan soldiers and police and provided them with modern equipment. [...] American officials have expressed dismay at the now fallen US-backed Afghan government’s inability to protect key cities and regions from the Taliban, despite laying out a strategy for doing so during his communications with Biden and other senior US leaders. [...] "They had all the advantages, they had 20 years of training by our coalition forces, a modern air force, good equipment and weapons," he said, according to sources on the call where he made the comments. "But you can’t buy will and you can’t purchase leadership. And that’s really what was missing in this situation."
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-09-09): In terms of US policy over the past 20 years, I am struck by how far the rhetorical pendulum has swung from the extremes of invasion to isolation. I think a lesson that we are gradually learning over time is just how diverse and, at times, useful the options are that exist in between these extremes. These policies that include conditional aid and other light-touch interventions are often used by the international community—typically even in partnership with those in fragile states—but they are less widely discussed as central to broader strategy. In many cases, they can help head off crises such as renewed fighting in post-conflict contexts, improving the lives of those in difficult contexts and reducing transnational risks for us all.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-09-22): After the final withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, President Biden suggested that the war in Afghanistan had most likely cost the USA more than US$2 trillion. While most of the estimated expenditure was on US military operations, the USA also devoted substantial financial resources to reconstruction activities. [...] Afghan military expenditure in the period was only a fraction of total US military aid to Afghanistan. Between 2004 and 2020, the Afghan government’s military expenditure totalled $3.7 billion in current dollars or $3.6 billion in constant 2019 dollars, equivalent to only 4.6 per cent of all US military aid disbursed to Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s average annual spending in 2004–20 was $219 million and, in constant 2019 dollars, never exceeded $270 million in any of the 17 years for which data is available (see figure 3). [...] Two key issues stand out after the withdrawal of US and allied forces from Afghanistan and the subsequent rapid defeat of the Afghan military. The first is the future of the Afghan military under a new Taliban government. Much has already been written about the capacity for Afghanistan to generate sustainable revenue to support its public expenditure. The affordability of the Afghan military over the past two decades—irrespective of its effectiveness—was dependent on US support. With the end of US military aid, what will happen to the Afghan military as an institution and how will it be funded? China, Russia and Turkey are a few countries that observers mention as being prepared to replace the void left by the USA and its allies.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-16): We went to Afghanistan almost 20 years ago with clear goals: get those who attacked us on September 11th, 2001, and make sure al Qaeda could not use Afghanistan as a base from which to attack us again. [...] If anything, the developments of the past week reinforced that ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision. American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves. We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong — incredibly well equipped — a force larger in size than the militaries of many of our NATO allies.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2021-08-31): THE PRESIDENT: Last night in Kabul, the United States ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan — the longest war in American history. [...] In April, I made the decision to end this war. As part of that decision, we set the date of August 31st for American troops to withdraw. The assumption was that more than 300,000 Afghan National Security Forces that we had trained over the past two decades and equipped would be a strong adversary in their civil wars with the Taliban. [...] After more than $2 trillion spent in Afghanistan — a cost that researchers at Brown University estimated would be over $300 million a day for 20 years in Afghanistan — for two decades — yes, the American people should hear this: $300 million a day for two decades.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2013-02-12): Beyond 2014, America’s commitment to a unified and sovereign Afghanistan will endure, but the nature of our commitment will change. We're negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions -- training and equipping Afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos, and counterterrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of al Qaeda and their affiliates.
Claim: The United States spent “2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week.” (Richard Ojeda, 2021-08-15)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Since invading Afghanistan in 2001, the United States has spent $2.313 trillion on the war, which includes operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Note that this total does not include funds that the United States government is obligated to spend on lifetime care for American veterans of this war, nor does it include future interest payments on money borrowed to fund the war. This $2.313 trillion spent on Afghanistan is a portion of the total estimated cost of the post-9/11 wars.
Claim: "(Ron) DeSantis' bill would remove: background checks, instruction, training and oversight." (Gavin Newsom, 2023-02-23)
Evidence (2023-02-23): HB 543 would not eliminate the requirements to get a concealed weapon license in Florida. Those requirements include passing a background check and completing a firearms training class. The bill, however, makes having a license optional, not mandatory. HB 543 will allow people to carry a concealed firearm in public even if they haven’t passed a background check or satisfied all of the license requirements.
Claim: "(Ron) DeSantis' bill would remove: background checks, instruction, training and oversight." (Gavin Newsom, 2023-02-23)
Evidence (2022-07-25): Then Crist moved on to guns, "Gov. Ron DeSantis ... opposes any background checks on guns, even for violent criminals." [...] DeSantis' office did not answer specific questions about his view on background checks for firearm sales. [...] But the campaign couldn’t point to a specific statement that suggested DeSantis opposes all background checks, either. Further, DeSantis hasn’t tried to remove such measures, though it’s not clear he could.
Claim: "(Ron) DeSantis' bill would remove: background checks, instruction, training and oversight." (Gavin Newsom, 2023-02-23)
Evidence (2023-04-18): DeSantis supports eliminating state licenses for carrying concealed firearms. But we could not find any evidence that DeSantis has said he opposes "any background checks on guns." When PolitiFact wrote about Crist’s claim in July, a spokesperson told the fact-checking website that DeSantis hasn’t supported background checks at all, including for "violent criminals." PolitiFact rated the Crist campaign claim "mostly false." In response to our inquiry, Crist’s campaign similarly pointed to DeSantis’ opposition to gun violence legislation and his stance on concealed carry. "Ron DeSantis wants to impose a permitless carry regime on Florida that would remove background checks from all concealed carry permits and potentially allow people with a record to carry a gun in public," campaign spokesperson Samantha Ramirez told us in an email. "Charlie Crist believes we need to stop mass shootings before they even happen by passing common sense gun reform."
Claim: "(Ron) DeSantis' bill would remove: background checks, instruction, training and oversight." (Gavin Newsom, 2023-02-23)
Evidence (2023-06-28): More than 200 bills passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis will go into effect on July 1st. Several of the laws have garnered attention and some have even been at the forefront of lawsuits. [...] DeSantis also signed a bill that was set to be effective July 1 that would limit abortions to six weeks, commonly known as a "Heartbeat Bill." [...] Background checks and training courses will also no longer be required to carry a hidden weapon on your person or in your car.
Claim: "(Ron) DeSantis' bill would remove: background checks, instruction, training and oversight." (Gavin Newsom, 2023-02-23)
Evidence (2022-02-07): When we asked DeSantis’ office about his "no vetting" claim, his press secretary, Christina Pushaw, cited the 2021 arrest of a Honduran national suspected of murdering a Jacksonville resident. But we could not independently verify whether that person entered the country as an unaccompanied minor. [...] Ron DeSantis, news release, Feb. 7, 2022 Ron DeSantis, Legislative proposal on Biden Border Policy, Dec. 10, 2021