From: Dehede011@aol.com
Date: Tue Feb 18 2003 - 08:56:47 MST
In a message dated 2/17/2003 2:30:57 PM Central Standard Time,
mez@apexnano.com writes: So, you would think we would create a policy that
would encourage such a society to come into existence. Now, so far we've
spent around $15 Billion on the war in Afghanistan, and continue to spend
around $1.8 Billion a month there on military deployment. By contrast, we've
spent between $200 and $300 million on reconstruction and peace keeping. To
me this seems quite short sighted. It focuses resources on the immediate
crisis without investing in preventing the next crisis.
Mez,
Those may be good accounting numbers but I doubt we have spent
anywhere near that amount of money. The soldiers were getting fed and
drawing a check anyway. If they were not in Afghanistan they would be out on
training exercises burning gasoline, shooting off ammo & bombs, wreaking
vehicles and airplanes.
As to the amount of money we have spent on reconstruction and peace
keeping. As the UN is taking care of peacekeeping ideally the US wouldn't be
spending anything. That leaves reconstruction and if your number is correct
then I have to feel that number would really get fuzzy. For example we know
from reading that the military has spent a lot feeding people, delivering
food, building roads, bridges and rehabilitating runways.
But in the end the Afghanistanis with have to do it themselves. It is
there country, that oil pipeline that is supposed to be worth trillions
should provide them some capabillity to do their own reconstruction.
Besides wouldn't you be the first to criticise if the US went in there
rebuilding the country in our image?
Ron h
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