I have seen the reasons that some have for Trump’s decision to move our troops out of Afghanistan……most of those that want to stay are getting paid by the corporations that are milking the taxpayers out of their money…..and that includes the former VP Biden…he has NO plan to bring our troops home..
Beyond that I have made an accusation that it is about the cash and not the foreign policy……here is why I say this….
The 19-year-old war in Afghanistan continues to be a huge sinkhole for US taxpayer dollars. The US government’s oversight authority that monitors waste in Washington’s Afghanistan reconstruction effort released a report this month updating its findings.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that as of December 31st, 2019, Congress appropriated almost $134 billion to Afghanistan reconstruction since the 2002 fiscal year. Of that amount, SIGAR reviewed about $63 billion and found approximately $19 billion or 30 percent was lost to waste, fraud, and abuse.
Between January 1st, 2018, and December 31st, 2019, SIGAR found an additional $3.4 billion was lost to waste, fraud, and abuse. Of that total, SIGAR identified $1.5 billion in taxpayer funds that were lost to waste, $300 million lost to fraud, and $34 million lost to abuse. The remaining $1.6 billion was allocated to counter-narcotics, which SIGAR believes was also wasted.
In a 2018 report, SIGAR described US counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan as a “failure.” A UN report from 2019 found Afghanistan is the source of 80 percent of the world’s illicit opium production despite the billions of US taxpayer dollars being spent to stop it.
Since SIGAR was formed in 2008, the oversight authority has investigated approximately 44 percent of the $134 billion spent by the US on Afghanistan reconstruction. According to Brown University’s Costs of War project, as of September 2019, the US has spent $2 trillion on the war in Afghanistan. The number includes interest on borrowed money used to fund the war and money spent on care for veterans
(antiwar.com)
Can you see it now?
Close to $2 trillion and who thinks that the M-IC will give up that easy cash without a fight?
Here’s another thought about the $2 trillion…..
Pursuing trade and industrial policies that boost U.S. exports and eliminate the trade deficit while investing $2 trillion over four years in the nation’s infrastructure, clean energy, and energy efficiency improvements could support 6.9 to 12.9 million “good jobs” annually by 2024, according to an analysis published Tuesday.
Something to think about…..
Be Smart!
Learn Stuff!
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
In Saner Thought 
I think we have not stopped the opium trade because that’s how the country finances its entire infrastructure so perhaps our anti drug war is a fake one but it is not a failure. We just don’t have a real stop the opium effort there. I also think we are there because we want forward assets in theater now to intimidate Iran and have the ability to strike on a moment’s notice. I agree is is an endless sink hole and the expenditure there would have much better applications here at home.
Since opium has medical application why not force drug companies to buy the product and cut out the middle man? chuq
Going back some time ago there were several British pharmaceutical firms that tried to contract with Afghan government for the legitimate production and sale of morphine for medical use as there is a world shortage. All these were rejected because making heroin from the opium instead of medical morphine generated profits that were many times greater that the relatively profitable legitimate pharmaceuticals.
There it is…profit….screw everything else. chuq
If Biden wins, I very much doubt he will pull the troops out either.
Best wishes, Pete.
He has already stated that he would think long about leaving…chuq