U.S. Inspector: Billions in failed programs wasted in Afghanistan

[jakeXT]

WASHNGTON — The top U.S. official for monitoring aid to Afghanistan painted a grim portrait of the country’s future Friday, saying it is riddled with corruption and graft.

With most Americans’ attention riveted on Iraq and Syria, John F. Sopko, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan, said the United States’ unprecedented $120 billion reconstruction investment there is at risk.

“The country remains under assault by insurgents and is short of domestic revenue, plagued by corruption, afflicted by criminal elements involved in opium and smuggling, and struggling to execute the basic functions of government,” Sopko said in a speech at Georgetown University.

President Barack Obama’s vow that only 9,800 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan by year’s end, Sopko said, has left many Americans unaware the the United States will spend up to $8 billion a year on reconstruction projects for years to come.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/12/239729_us-inspector-billions-in-failed.html

[GeorgeGist]

1. We suck at nation building.

[littlemissmartypants]

2. And at caring for our own. nt

[heaven05]

3. and?

always has been this way, always will be.

[unhappycamper]

4. So what exactly have we 'gained' in Afghanistan?

* 2,344 dead Americans
* $5 trillion dollars added to the National Debt
* not the hearts and minds of Afghans
* 57% of our discretionary budget disappears for bombs, drones and occupation

We need to talk about this 3-30 more years war crap.

[jakeXT]

5. Another piece in the game ?

http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/us-geopolitics-afghanistan-and-the-containment-of-china

[BobbyBoring]

6. Charlie Wilson's War is instructive here.

After the Mujahedeen ran the Russians out, Wilson wanted to appropriate a measly 50 mil. to build schools and start educating Afghanis. Nyet, no dice. We can spend billions on arms but nothing on actually helping the people.

Now look where we are. Plus, Bush and the neo con's believed that St Ronnie destroyed the USSR, not the Mujahedeen.

Churchill didn't call Afghanistan the "Graveyard of Empires" for nothing.

[2banon]

7. Afghanistan the "Graveyard of Empires"

Hadn't heard/read that before.. continues to hold true 60/70 years later...