US Spent Billions on Afghan Projects That Will Fall Apart When We Leave

[unhappycamper]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/11/afghanistan-withdrawal-left-behind



US Spent Billions on Afghan Projects That Will Fall Apart When We Leave
—By AJ Vicens and Dave Gilson
Wed Nov. 20, 2013 3:00 AM PST

The United States and Afghanistan are close to finalizing a deal that would set guidelines for the two countries' relationship after 2014, when the bulk of American forces are supposed to leave the country—more than a dozen years and hundreds of billions of dollars later.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai had reached tentative agreement on one of the last remaining holdups preventing a long-term deal: whether American forces could continue to raid Afghan homes during security operations. (unhappycamper update: http://tinyurl.com/nxad7lq ) The new agreement would prevent American-led raids except under "extraordinary circumstances," but it's not yet clear that the deal will pass the Loya Jirga, a body of Afghan elders. The raids, among other issues, have created deep mistrust between American forces and the Afghan people.

If a deal is reached, US forces could remain in the country at least another 10 years in some fashion, committing taxpayers to spending millions more on security and nation-building projects. So far, many of those projects have been undermined by corruption and dysfunction. Here are a few examples of US investments in Afghanistan that have already either fallen apart or show little signs of lasting success:

~snip~

At least 19 of the hospitals built by the international community—including two US-funded facilities that cost nearly $20 million—may be too expensive for the Afghan government to run.

[warrant46]

1. What idiots

Meanwhile in the US seniors eat cat food and the homeless sleep in card board boxes

[tblue37]

2. But very well-connected people and companies--like Halliburton

and its subsidiaries--made out like the bandits they really are, and since that was the main point, those with real power don't see a problem at all.

[valerief]

3. Yes, but very rich people got richer and that's all that matters in the world. nt