Does anyone even remember what happened on October 7, 2001?

Today, October 7, marks the anniversary of the start of U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan designated Operation Enduring Freedom.

Talk about “enduring.”

It has been 19 years, our longest war to date, and it’s not over yet.

Other than the small percentage of Americans who have had to bear the burden of this war, either as service members or their families, Afghanistan has all but slipped from our national consciousness.

From the start of the conflict until February of this year, over 2,300 U.S. troops have been killed and over 20,000 wounded.

On August 6, 2001, we lost the largest number of Americans in a single incident when Extortion 17, a CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, was shot down in Wardak province. It was also the deadliest helicopter crash in the history of U.S. special operations. Thirty Americans, including 22 Navy SEALs, plus seven Afghan soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed.

The estimated cost to U.S. taxpayers of this war is around $2 TRILLION dollars.

However, it may be finally winding down.

In March, the U.S. signed a peace deal with the Taliban, agreeing to pull out troops, remove economic sanctions on top Taliban leaders and release Taliban fighters if the Taliban promised to stop aiding al-Qaeda and other international terror groups.

After a six-month delay, peace talks finally began in Doha, Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government last month.

At the peak of the war, there were more than 100,000 American troops in Afghanistan, along with tens of thousands from about 40 nations in the United States-led NATO coalition.

When the deal was signed, that number was about 12,000. The phased troop withdrawal began in March, and there are currently around 8,000 Americans still on the ground.

There have been nine U.S. fatalities in Afghanistan so far this year, but zero in recent months. We pray for the safe return of all those still serving.

Until Afghanistan, America’s longest war was Vietnam. Over 58,000 American service members perished during the conflict. It was a painful period of U.S. history marked by deep political divisions, civil unrest and violent protests.

When Donald Trump was elected president, he promised to end our “forever wars.” Amidst another painful period of U.S. history marked by deep political divisions, civil unrest and protests — not to mention a global pandemic — we hope he is able to make good on that vow.

God bless our troops still serving in Afghanistan.