The Soviets invaded and occupied Afghanistan for nearly 10 years from December 1979 to February 1989, with 620,000 Soviet soldiers having served in Afghanistan during that time. 15,000 Soviet soldiers died officially, with unofficial estimates going up to 30,000, and between 1.5 to 3 million Afghan civilians were killed, and millions more were either internally displaced or left the country as refugees, the population of Afghanistan declined by 11% during the war.
The Americans invaded and occupied Afghanistan for nearly 20 years from October 2001 to August 2021, with 800,000 American soldiers having served during that time. 2,461 American soldiers were killed, and it is estimated that around 46,000 Afghan civilians were killed. Between the years of 2002-2012 alone 5.7 million Afghan refugees who left during the Soviet war returned to Afghanistan, increasing the Afghan population by 25%.
Both wars did cause significant damage to Afghanistan and its people, but the Americans despite sending more soldiers and occupying the country for a much longer time, caused significantly less death and destruction, what is the reason for this? What did the Americans do differently in their war compared to the Soviets?