
A fact-check found that U.S. and partner forces achieved notable battlefield successes but that calling the campaign a “total victory” overlooks strategic setbacks and ongoing risks. The new reporting that the U.S. has spent an estimated $25 billion and the defense secretary’s insistence the war is not a “quagmire” underscore the gap between optimistic public claims and independent assessments of the conflict’s broader costs and unresolved dangers.
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