General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhere did the $5tn spent on Afghanistan and Iraq go? Here's where
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/11/us-afghanistan-iraq-defense-spendingWhile Washington bickers about what, if anything, has been achieved after 20 years and nearly $5tn spent on forever wars, there is one clear winner: the US defense industry.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the American military relied to an unprecedented degree on private contractors for support in virtually all areas of war operations. Contractors supplied trucks, planes, fuel, helicopters, ships, drones, weapons and munitions as well as support services from catering and construction to IT and logistics. The number of contractors on the ground outnumbered US troops most years of the conflicts. By the summer of 2020, the US had 22,562 contractor personnel in Afghanistan roughly twice the number of American troops.
The gravy train for the defense industry was also fueled by the way the wars were budgeted and paid for. Congress used emergency and contingency funding that circumvented the normal budget process. For the first decade of the conflict, the US used emergency appropriations, which are typically reserved for one-off crises such as floods and hurricanes. Detailed spending oversight was minimal. And because this type of spending is excluded from budget projections and deficit estimates, it enabled everyone to sustain the pretense that the wars would be over shortly.
The result was what former defense secretary Robert Gates termed a culture of endless money inside the Pentagon. The defense department made the operational decisions; managed the bidding process for contractors; awarded the contracts (largely using non-competitive bids); and kept at least 10% of the wartime funding in classified accounts.
Not even the financial crisis of 2008 could interrupt the spending spree. . .
Response to CousinIT (Original post)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
CousinIT
(9,257 posts)Response to CousinIT (Reply #3)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
brewens
(13,620 posts)At least not when we use them overseas. Those guys get big bucks and better benefits than our troops, and guys like Prince tack on a nice profit. Oh, and they recruit them from our military, so we pay for their training, then pay to train their replacements. Saves us money my ass!
malaise
(269,157 posts)Expect more attacks. And by the way they will ignore the domestic terrorists unless they can turn that into a forever war.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,157 posts)lees1975
(3,879 posts)The man who was the brains and power behind the Bush administration stood to make millions off military contracts through Haliburton and military contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Republicans. There you have the bottom line. Figure out where Trump wants to invest and make money and you will have the entire motivation for his candidacy and presidency. Russia comes to mind, along with North Korea.
Boomerproud
(7,964 posts)$$$$$$$$$.
madville
(7,412 posts)Billions in military contracts related to Iraq and Afghanistan. Very interesting who he is married to.
MsLeopard
(1,265 posts)that who hes married to wont retire. He doesnt want her to because even after 30 years of getting rich off of govt insider knowledge and connections, he still doesnt have enough money. These bastards never have enough.
RANDYWILDMAN
(2,675 posts)How much was he worth before the endless wars ?????
Ziggysmom
(3,412 posts)It's bullshit.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,157 posts)Trailrider1951
(3,414 posts)OldBaldy1701E
(5,157 posts)We have been warned about this crap since 'society' began. No one listened then and no one is going to now. All one has to do is have an 'attack' in someone's area and those that live there will buy into whatever the MIC (military industrial complex) says. This has worked since the dawn of humans and they will continue to fall for it as long as we keep putting those who are wealthy on pedestals as if they are demigods.