AFGHAN WAR--15 YEARS--3/4 OF A TRILLION DOLLARS WASTED

In Afghanistan US forces are hunkered down behind embassy blast walls in the Afghan capital.  They dare not go out into the country side.  Even to check on what the Afghans did with the vast sums of money we supply them with to build their infrastructure.  We know there is a lot of corruption but, It's too dangerous out there.

It has been fifteen years and almost $3/4 of a trillion dollars spent. (Yes we spent nearly a  trillion dollars). But nothing much has changed in Afghanistan.  The Taliban still control almost half of the countryside, pretty much the same circumstances as when we foolishly first invaded that nation fifteen years ago.  The Afghans  are growing more poppies now than ever before for the production of opium. This year about fifty percent more than they produced in 2015. This cash crop is what fuels the Taliban insurgency. With the opium trade flourishing the insurgents have just about unlimited funds.

The military force we so lavishly supplied with armaments and training...is barely able to defend itself. Two thousand  deaths and 4000 casualties were reported among the US trained forces last year and there were hundreds of "security incidents".   Reviewing these glum facts General Mattis recently remarked "We are not winning in Afghanistan."  We can more correctly state this as: "we  are losing".

One good thing about Afghanistan is that it is a fine  example of the futility of attempting to solve problems by war.  It is good for nothing else.  Perhaps we have learned our lesson?  (I doubt that).  We threw over $700 billion dollars down a a rat hole in that nation, famed for bringing great invading powers to their knees. Those US tax dollars, were they not squandered abroad, and invested here at home would have truly made America great again. Think of what we could have done with that much money if spent here on OUR own infrastructure.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama decided those funds were better spent on Afghanistans infrastructure . Let us hope that Mr, Trump and Gen Mattis are better businessmen than their predecessors.  Perhaps they will know when to sell off and get out of a bad deal.