Report: US wasted billions on cars, buildings in Afghanistan

[Judi Lynn]

Source: ABC News


A report released by the U.S. government’s Afghanistan watchdog has found that America has wasted billions of dollars in the war-torn country on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press
February 28, 2021, 11:18 PM
• 4 min read

ISLAMABAD -- The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. government watchdog.

The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of buildings and vehicles “were maintained in good condition,” said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which oversees American taxpayer money spent on the protracted conflict.

The report said that just $1.2 billion of the $7.8 billion went to pay for buildings and vehicles that were used as intended.

“The fact that so many capital assets wound up not used, deteriorated or abandoned should have been a major cause of concern for the agencies financing these projects," John F. Sopko, the special inspector general, said in his report.



Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-us-wasted-billions-cars-buildings-afghanistan-76176528

[PoliticAverse]

1. I'm sure we won't make the same errors in the next 20 years of the war. n/t

[jaxexpat]

13. Yes, I'm sure the MIC learned it's lesson.

Military contractors are all very sorry to have taken taxpayer's money in a wasteful fashion.

The silence from the pentagon on matters such as this is deafening. I can remember when the US being a super power was considered a good thing. Now I'm thinking it's Luxembourg's turn to step up.

[DURHAM D]

2. Just think...

they could have used that money for the wall.

[ZZenith]

3. Somebody left a hardcove copy of George W. Bush's book "Decision Points" in our little free library

out in front of our house and today I took great satisfaction from removing it and ripping it to shreds into the recycle bin.

Some day we’ll get to learn just how much of those billions of dollars ended up back in the Cheney/Bush pockets.

[DENVERPOPS]

10. Don't forget

The Military Industrial Complex............I would hate to see the true accounting of the Iraq war.....maybe a trillion dollars?
Remember when Rumsfeld said 3 billion??????????????

All, so that Cheney could kick back tons of Billions to Haliburton, and Rumsfeld could kick back tons of billions to defense contractors

And still, twenty years later, no one can tell us who got the plane loads full of one hundred dollar bills that went somewhere, into some rabbit hole........

[Solly Mack]

4. Just because I'm not shocked doesn't mean I'm not disgusted.

[OldBaldy1701E]

26. Hear Hear! (n/t)

[Irish_Dem]

5. The Parliamentarian didn't bother to rule on wasted military $$$ billions allowed by congress.

Or trillion dollar tax cuts.

It is just the $15 an hour wage that is against the rules.

[GPV]

6. I want my money back

[not fooled]

7. Yes, but

the contractors made $$$$$$.

And just think of the jobs in 'Murika made possible by the war industry!!!1!

Don't use federal money to help those who would benefit, instead funnel it to the war industry operating in every congressional district so that it can be run one time through our economy, then be blown up or otherwise squandered!!!1!

Mission Accomplished!

[LittleGirl]

8. We spend billions, hundreds of billions for our military

and yet the Capital building was invaded by a bunch of yokels from Michigan and Alabama.
You should have seen me screaming at the tv on the 6th of January!
Where was the military?
Where were the national guard and police?
What about the F14's we deployed on 9/11 to protect the Capital?
Where were they?

[DENVERPOPS]

11. Not yokels from Michigan and Alabama

Have you seen the analysis of the people there??????

THAT IS WHAT IS MOST FRIGHTENING.........

[Hotler]

17. I think someone told them to stand down. nt

[Elessar Zappa]

20. The national guard should have been called out

but not the regular military. That would have given Trump an excuse to keep us under martial law. The military did the right thing by staying out of it. Also, it wasn’t just yokels who invaded the capital. 27% of those arrested are white collar professionals.

[captain queeg]

25. The military isn't there to protect us, they are there to protect business ventures

Revolving door of retired generals getting lucrative positions in big business, its self perpetuating.

[yaesu]

9. The We broke it We fix it strategy isn't working out too good. nt

[twodogsbarking]

12. Anyone surprised?

Anyone?

[OldBaldy1701E]

27. I... no... wait... no, I am not. (n/t)

[twodogsbarking]

31. The Republicans said it wasn't a problem because

it wasn't in the US. Heads shaking together.

[Hotler]

14. Remember this? Tons of cash goes missing in Iraq.

How the US sent $12bn in cash to Iraq. And watched it vanish

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1

[Miguelito Loveless]

15. And yet the war goes on

and we continue to feed the insatiable maw that is the military industrial complex.

[Kid Berwyn]

16. "Money trumps peace."

George W Bush

[area51]

18. Yet there's "no money" to pay for healthcare for the American people.

[Lonestarblue]

19. We need a strong military, but we need to weed out the waste.

Both political parties support the military and essentially seem to give them anything they want with no accountability. The constant development of new and better military hardware happens because we sell or give away even our most recent planes and equipment, thus giving hardware secrets to the world and necessitating development of something better. And the profits from that constant development go into the pockets of the wealthy because they are the shareholders who own the companies that form the military industrial complex. I want the military to be prepared, but I also want them to use our tax dollars efficiently. I suspect we could fund healthcare for every person in the US just on military waste alone.

Politicians use patriotism and support for the military to screw the taxpayers. I wish I knew how to get more accountability.

[OldBaldy1701E]

28. By getting the Commander-in-Chief

to issue orders demanding full transparency and accountability. Non-countermand-able. (Don't hold your breath).

[Yeehah]

21. Doesn't come close to the massive waste as a result of the unjustified invasion of Iraq

The corrupt, profiteering George AWOL Bush cabal invaded Iraq when the enemy was in Afghanistan.

[rickyhall]

22. "C130s carrying pallet-loads of cash"

[SharonAnn]

29. It was the Iraqi money being returned to them. It was NOT "our money".

It is money they had on deposit in United States banks that had been held.

[Javaman]

23. Afghanistan: the biggest money laundering grift the world has ever seen.

next to Iraq that is

[LakeArenal]

24. "were either abandoned or destroyed By KATHY GANNON Associated Press Februar ... (ABC News)

That Kathy....

[EX500rider]

30. I saw that when I was there with the Afghani Ford pickups the Police drove..

....many of them parked broken or awaiting repair.
They just don't have the infrastructure or education base to maintain large fleets of late model vehicles with computerized fuel injection etc.