US 'wasted $30bn on Afghanistan and Iraq' over decade

[jannyk]

Source: BBC

The US government has wasted $30bn (£18bn) in contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last decade, according to a bi-partisan spending commission. The commission on wartime contracting blamed an over-reliance on contractors, poor planning and fraud for the waste.

It had evidence of lax accountability and inadequate competition, it said.

Among the examples cited were a $40m prison for Iraq that the country did not want and was never completed. US-funded projects in those two countries also risk going to waste because host governments are unable or unwilling to sustain them. In one case, $300m was poured into a sophisticated power plant in Kabul which the Afghan government will not be able to run, and a programme worth $11.4bn of facilities for the Afghan National security forces is likely to be unsustainable.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14712172

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there are not enough 'words'.....

Ah, fuck it!

[Amonester]

1. Here is a project I propose would be sustainable:

Bring them all back home, cancel all projects, take the necessary chunk to fund Interpol adequately so they can hire and create jobs in order to do their job adequately.

Enough yet?

[truedelphi]

8. And how do we do that?

When Nancy Pelosi knew we had a Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate, she still didn't decide to go after stopping the war funding.

Nah, her first inclination was to raise the postal rates on small businesses, while letting the larger businesses get discounted rates.

Then for a while, we had a Democratic President and Dem majorities in both the House and the Senate. But then one of the Republican Senators whispered the word "Filibuster" and both bodies of Congress basically went into deep freeze mode, except when it came to approving huge packages for military spending.

December of 2009 - both parties have Democratic Majority and the President is a Democrat who had pledged to immediately "end the war in Iraq. First measure of business."

So instead of that happening, over 165 Billions of dollars were approved by Congress and signed off on by Obama.

Then Summer of 2010 - 33 Billions of dollars were signed off on by Congress and the President.

And we recently offered up 60 billions of dollars of stuff to our allies in the Middle East.

Meanwhile 38 states face killer deficits, and when governors approach Geithner, he refuses to ante up loans for these states as it would "add to the deficit." So no money for states to keep people employed, but only money for killing foreigners in nations that are part of our "peace keeping" agenda.

Oh and the big Oil People continue to offer up very little of revenues for the USA while they continue to do drilling in the Gulf Of Mexico, the same Gulf that one of those companies destroyed not too long ago, environmentally speaking.

[Amonester]

11. Link to DU's Activist HQ OP here (I'm not saying it's a done deal.)

With determination, and a growing movement, there is a way: Make.Him.(And Congress).Do.It

Tahrir Square Comes to Washington DC Oct 6th!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x34852

Get involved in one way or another, there is no way the North African peoples could do it, and a majority of We The People who express the fact that they want Liberal policies from one poll to the next will be ignored! Also, the Iraq Veterans Against the war will be in the next day, Oct. 7th--or the first day, Oct. 6th, if invited, maybe?).

Work.For.It.

[truedelphi]

12. Not willing to just say thank you --

Though I do appreciate it, but I will be

PASSING THE LINK ON!

Personally I think this is as important and maybe more so than voting.

[mike_c]

2. they wasted $30 bln on "contracts...."

Contracts?! :rofl:

[bluedigger]

3. I thought that was what capitalism calls "profit"? n/t

[Steerpike]

4. Sir?!

may I have another bowl of soup...?

[madokie]

5. I wonder what this sophisticated power plant in Kabul is

Whats the fuel?
I guess I could try reading the link to see if they give up any details on that.

ETA: I found this, "18 diesel generators, each capable of producing around 7MW, and auxiliary equipment for the power plant project are being manufactured in Kiel, Germany. The first batch of six of the18 large diesel generators is scheduled to arrive at the project site in June 2008."

Here: &id=89&type=html

[valerief]

6. US wastes MOST of its military budget. nt

[Arctic Dave]

7. Building "white elephants"?

Wouldn't be a first.

"Confessions of an Economic Hitman" detailed this pretty well.

[BulletproofLandshark]

9. Where's the accountability?

Oops, I forgot that only schoolteachers are supposed to be accountable any more. My bad.

[daleo]

10. It was all a waste. n/t

[GeorgeGist]

13. More than a Trillion ...

actually.

[Psephos]

14. Ya think? n/t