$1tn cost of US’s longest war hastens retreat from military intervention

[jakeXT]

The Afghanistan war, the longest overseas conflict in American history, has cost the US taxpayer nearly $1tn and will require spending several hundred billion dollars more after it officially ends this month, according to FT calculations and independent researchers.

Around 80 per cent of that spending on the Afghanistan conflict has taken place during the presidency of Barack Obama, who sharply increased the US military presence in the country after taking office in 2009.

The enormous bill for the 13-year conflict, which has never been detailed by the government, will add to the pervasive scepticism about the war in the US where opinion polls show a majority of Americans believe it was a bad idea.

With the Iraq war having already cost the US $1.7tn, according to one study, the bill from the Afghanistan conflict is an important factor in the broader reluctance among the American public and the Obama administration to intervene militarily in other parts of the world — including sending troops back to Iraq.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/14be0e0c-8255-11e4-ace7-00144feabdc0.html

$620m
Six ways to waste it


$500m in transport planes for Afghan forces, stored for 3 years, turned into $36,000 of scrap metal


$80m on north Afghan consulate, officials decide too vulnerable to attack


$34m on base with 64,000 sq ft operations centre in southwest Afghanistan, never used


$3m on eight patrol boats for Afghan police, still in Virginia storage after 4 years


$5.4m incinerators, installed incorrectly, never used


$3.6m on TV broadcast trucks for live sporting events, unused in Kabul storage

[cantbeserious]

1. The Corporations Made Their Bucks - That Is All That Matters In America Today - The People Be Damned

eom

[grasswire]

2. Is this SNAFU, FUBAR, or just a boondoggle or honey hole?

Sickening.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. Kick. eom