US money ($2.16 Billion) ended up in Taliban hands: report

[kpete]

Source: AFP

US government funds earmarked ostensibly to promote business in Afghanistan have landed in Taliban hands under a $2.16 billion transportation contract, The Washington Post has reported.

Citing the results of a year-long military-led investigation, the newspaper said US and Afghan efforts to address the problem have been slow, and all eight of the trucking firms involved remain on US payroll.

Moreover, the Pentagon extended the contract for six months last March, the report said.

The investigation found "documented, credible evidence ... of involvement in a criminal enterprise or support for the enemy" by four of the eight prime contractors, the paper noted.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/us-money-ended-taliban-hands-report-023408060.html

[DJ13]

1. "Sorry Grandma, you'll have to eat catfood, the Taliban took your SS"

[Mimosa]

3. K&R We're bleeding money to them.

KPete, thank you for always keeping us informed.

[No Elephants]

12. Also bleeding blood. U.S. troops are, anyway. Think it was 17 or 19 dead last week alone in

Afghanistan and Iraq. Believe the youngest was 19.

[defendandprotect]

24. Thank you -- we're rarely seeing reports here of troop losses --

[Mimosa]

31. The news media has pretty much ceased reporting deaths, even local news.

No Elephants, thank you for the info.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[jimmil]

4. You may often hear the question, "Just how stupid can people be?"

I believe we have a contestant for the answer.

[buckrogers1965]

5. So we are paying to have the enemy fight us.

Why am I not surprised? I bet a $100 bill that we are arming them too.

[TrollBuster9090]

6. Hey, at least it's ACCOUNTED for. Unlike

the 6.6 billion in "footballs" that just disappeared in Iraq.

[Prometheus Bound]

7. I find that hilarious.

If the Pentagon extended the contract, one assumes they felt the trucking companies were doing a decent job.

[blackbart99]

8. OK now can we get out?

If our own military is paying off the taliban so our trucks can have safe passage, then they have
won. Can we get out now? Leave them to their own infighting....who cares anymore?

[No Elephants]

15. To figure out who won the WOT, compare the U.S. federal budget in 2000 to the federal budget,

on and off book, in 2008.

Hint: Contractors and other domestic and foreign terrorists.

[iwishiwas]

21. nah-we will just extend the contracts promising to root out coruption.

:mad: :mad: :mad: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[Webster Green]

9. Another day......another outrage.

This is absurd. :crazy:

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

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[No Elephants]

14. I criticize Obama as much as the next disappointed Dem. To be fair, however, during his campaign,

he said he"we took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan" {when we diverted to Iraq}.

From that, I assumed he would be going back into Afghanistan.

It was one of the things he said that I did not like, but I supported and voted for him anyway, because I thought the alternatives, both in the Dem primary field and in the Republican Party, were worse (or, as to some Dems, simply not electible).

Of course, we are not out of Iraq yet, either, and are apparently looking for an invite to stay beyond Dummya's withdrawal schedule, but that is another issue.

On the other hand, if you mean he convinced us that he was not the kind of President who would be paying the Taliban, I agree.

[JCMach1]

11. Remind me why we are there again. We need to GTFO

[No Elephants]

16. Originally, because Afghanistan had supposedly "harbored" terrorists.

Oddly enough, we had helped make pretty much those same terrorists Afghan heroes when we wanted to use them against Russia.

Realpolitik. It's not just for folks with no moral compass anymore.

(I swear, I am going to start a T shirt company some day.)

[JCMach1]

20. So does Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, but we didn't invade those places

:(

What a waster.

[formercia]

30. Keeping those garden spots for a rainy day.

Always have a backup War Plan.

[ScottLand]

17. This is just our way of keeping it going. If the Taliban

went broke, how could they continue to fight us? We'd have to bring our troops home.

[liberal N proud]

18. Paying the terrorist so we have someone to bomb

Supporting the military industrial complex.

:tinfoilhat:

[Yon_Yonson]

19. Politicians in DC are gridlocked by fiscal problems but thanks to DC the Taliban is doing well

Success in almost any field depends more on energy and drive than it does on intelligence. This explains why we have so many stupid leaders.

The Taliban receiving $43 million from Prez Bush in 2001 and it took them this long to spend it so Prez Obama figured they need more to make sure they could continue fighting the coalition forces.

[glinda]

22. K & R n/t

[psychopomp]

23. 2.16 Billion Dollars. To the Taliban. From the US Government.

US soldiers protecting the poppy crops... Is it time now to admit that we have failed there?

[Solly Mack]

25. America: Funding the war on terror..from both sides.

[Blue_Tires]

26. This is news?

I thought Wikileaks had this out months ago?

[Yavin4]

27. The Elderly, The Unemployed, The Poor, and The Dwindling Middle Class Need to Declare War...

against the U.S. By doing so, the Pentagon will pay us to continue the war.

I'll accept my genius award now.

[Auntie Bush]

28. Then maybe the Gov will build us some roads too.

[LetTimmySmoke]

29. How much money has the federal government given our homegrown Christian Taliban?

We need to get the fuck out of Afghanistan now.