Afghan intervention cost $557 billion to US

[OrionHunter]

you mean to say they are running black economy under the umbrella of Pentagon.......

it is huge % .........of unaccounted expenditures......but are you sure all that expenditures are related to WOT expenses......because the official figure is $1.114 trillion till 2011

Not all on WOT but about 70% of it! The remainder was probably for funding top secret black ops programs and for the 'color revolutions' in the Central Asian republics, Georgia etc. This funding had to be beyond Congressional oversight or the grand strategy of the neo-cons of starting pro-American 'revolutions' would have come a cropper.

There's even a top secret military space program that has nothing to do with NASA, that needed funding. Apart from this there is the drug trade run by the CIA in Afghanistan running into billions of dollars to fund these projects.

For details that may surprise you, here's a thread of mine on the website, abovetopsecret.com

The Top Secret US Military Space Program

This being off topic, I will open another thread for this later, with more disclosures!

Cheers!

 

[That Guy]

Before 9/11, we tried negotiations with the Taliban about Osama bin Laden. Many people do not know this but it is true and that fact is not secret. We even tried to send a secure satellite phone to Mullah Omar and to tell him that we would speak to no one else but it would be a direct line from the satellite phone straight to The White House.

Like what the BBC did...

AlQaeda5.htm

Look at the date: Nov 15, 2001. If Omar was willing to talk to the BBC, we hoped that we could and we tried BEFORE Nov 15, 2001. So do not think for a moment that the US went into Afghanistan on a whim.


It depends on the parameters and the goals you set for the war. If all we wanted as to oust the Taliban from power and leave the country for the Northern Alliance to do whatever they want, we could have set those parameters and goal and declared victory. But we took on the long term goal and tried to raise a primitive people at least into the 19th century after we defeated the Taliban. We failed and I have no problems saying that. You can only work so much with a people determined to be primitive and I say that without being insulting.

But rubbish, the invasion started in October 7th of 2001 (A full month before that little snippet you posted.), and the Taliban were the ones to offer negotiations WAY BEFORE that. In fact, soon after the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban made it clear that they were willing to cooperate with the US, Don't be so naive as to think that the US went to war after thinking things through. The US public was out for vengeance, not that I blame them, and that is what blinded them, which in turn forced the politicians and Bush Jr to act without thinking of the consequences.

Even AFTER the invasion, after they were kicked out of power, they STILL were willing to talk and not plunge the nation into war, Karzai was for it, but Cheney forced Karzai to reject the Taliban offer.

Afghanistan: The price of revenge - Special series - Al Jazeera English

Please don't give me that whole "America didn't go to war on a whim", no one does, but it would be foolish to say that the US went into Afghanistan with an actual well thought out plan, because they clearly didn't. The fact that this war rages on is a clear indication that the US did not think things through and simply went to war for revenge.

---

Just to hammer in my point, this should be the nail in the coffin.

http://www.geo.tv/GeoDetail.aspx?ID=107240

If this doesn't convince you, then nothing will.

 

[HRK]

Not all on WOT but about 70% of it! The remainder was probably for funding top secret black ops programs and for the 'color revolutions' in the Central Asian republics, Georgia etc. This funding had to be beyond Congressional oversight or the grand strategy of the neo-cons of starting pro-American 'revolutions' would have come a cropper.

There's even a top secret military space program that has nothing to do with NASA, that needed funding. Apart from this there is the drug trade run by the CIA in Afghanistan running into billions of dollars to fund these projects.

For details that may surprise you, here's a thread of mine on the website, abovetopsecret.com

The Top Secret US Military Space Program

This being off topic, I will open another thread for this later, with more disclosures!

Cheers!

I will be waiting.....

 

[Hyperion]

Spoken like a true lackey. Anything else you'd like to ask you master?

It's worth every penny! Radicalism must be stopped.

Hopefully with expansion of U.S. drone fleet, costs will be reduced.
@gambit If I may ask (I want your opinion), do you really think that U.S. must have soldiers on Afghanistan soil in order to eradicate Taliban?

Yara, you are one huge space-junkie, even bigger than myself...

Not all on WOT but about 70% of it! The remainder was probably for funding top secret black ops programs and for the 'color revolutions' in the Central Asian republics, Georgia etc. This funding had to be beyond Congressional oversight or the grand strategy of the neo-cons of starting pro-American 'revolutions' would have come a cropper.

There's even a top secret military space program that has nothing to do with NASA, that needed funding. Apart from this there is the drug trade run by the CIA in Afghanistan running into billions of dollars to fund these projects.

For details that may surprise you, here's a thread of mine on the website, abovetopsecret.com

The Top Secret US Military Space Program

This being off topic, I will open another thread for this later, with more disclosures!

Cheers!

 

[OrionHunter]

Yara, you are one huge space-junkie, even bigger than myself...

Bhai! If you know me you'll go bonkers! See my vids on You Tube on the subject. More than 600,000 hits and counting!

 

[gambit]

... went to war for revenge.

Why not? Considering 9/11, what is wrong with that?

The real nail in the coffin is the fact that you had to admit that the US and the Taliban were in negotiations prior to 9/11. But after 9/11, what make you think we were under any obligations at all? What you really want is to portray US as reckless, undiplomatic, and impatient when your own arguments debunked you. Negotiations to you mean for US to give and give and give...Never for the other side to give any. And if we insist on bilateral agreements, then we are the bad guys. Sorry, but after Sept 11, 2001, all bets are off the table and instead of cards and money, it will be and were guns, bullets, and bombs. Big mothas of bombs at that.

 

[That Guy]

Why not? Considering 9/11, what is wrong with that?

The real nail in the coffin is the fact that you had to admit that the US and the Taliban were in negotiations prior to 9/11. But after 9/11, what make you think we were under any obligations at all? What you really want is to portray US as reckless, undiplomatic, and impatient when your own arguments debunked you. Negotiations to you mean for US to give and give and give...Never for the other side to give any. And if we insist on bilateral agreements, then we are the bad guys. Sorry, but after Sept 11, 2001, all bets are off the table and instead of cards and money, it will be and were guns, bullets, and bombs. Big mothas of bombs at that.

You're nitpicking, as always. I've told you multiple times, READ THE DAMN COMMENT, because you're just repeating things that I've already addressed.

 

[gambit]

You're nitpicking, as always. I've told you multiple times, READ THE DAMN COMMENT, because you're just repeating things that I've already addressed.

The only thing you want to do is to portray US as somehow un-thinking of the consequences. You criticize without the wisdom to foresee what those consequences would be. That is called '20/20 hindsight'. Ever heard of it?

 

[That Guy]

The only thing you want to do is to portray US as somehow un-thinking of the consequences. You criticize without the wisdom to foresee what those consequences would be. That is called '20/20 hindsight'. Ever heard of it?

What an absurd claim to make, as usual, you continue to make ridicules assumptions. If any of what you said was true, the US wouldn't be in the mess it is in right now with Afghanistan. There was no foresight into the consequences, and there was absolutely no properly planned out exit strategy. This entire war has been a disaster.

I have heard of hindsight, and that's pretty much what the US and coalition troops are doing now. They're looking back and regretting not making certain choices.

The war was nothing more than revenge, understandable, but foolishly planned out.

YOU want to portray the US Army as angels that can do no wrong and have never made any mistakes. You're doing more damage to the US' image than Bush jr. ever could.

 

[Wright]

Over a decade span, It's not that large an amount. It's the yearly revenue of some corporations.

 

[RescueRanger]

Working as intended.

 

[BigDaddyWatch]

Why not? Considering 9/11, what is wrong with that?

The real nail in the coffin is the fact that you had to admit that the US and the Taliban were in negotiations prior to 9/11. But after 9/11, what make you think we were under any obligations at all? What you really want is to portray US as reckless, undiplomatic, and impatient when your own arguments debunked you. Negotiations to you mean for US to give and give and give...Never for the other side to give any. And if we insist on bilateral agreements, then we are the bad guys. Sorry, but after Sept 11, 2001, all bets are off the table and instead of cards and money, it will be and were guns, bullets, and bombs. Big mothas of bombs at that.

But America after 9/11 did behave reckless, undiplomatic, and impatient. America after 9/11 behaved like a child throwing a tantrum and now the bills are due. While America spend money like a drunken sailor on wars abroad the people back home paid the price. In part to help pay for the wars the US governnment had to inflate which in turn help to cause the housing bubble and the 2008 economic crisis. Not only did they invade Afghanistan but they also invaded Iraq a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. 557 billion dollars is last years numbers and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Afghanistan/Iraq wars will cost the Americans 1,5 trillion dollars at the end of this year. And that's only the operational costs and the costs for reconstruction but doesn't include interest on debt payment and the potential cost related to the care for the 2,5 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the future. The classical economic theory is that for every dollar a nation spend directly on war that nation is set to lose another dollar indirectly. That's 3 trillion dollars right there !

And what does America get after 12 years of fighting, killing innocent people's in six countries, violating every international law, bankrupting the domestic economy and got 6731 of there soldiers killed, created more than 50000 cripples and hundreds of thousands of mentally illed ? America has created three failed states Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. And now Americans want to creat a fourth failed state in Syria by arming cannibals.

But all of that is nothing compared to the price that the locals in these countries have paid. But like all good Americans i suppose you don't care about that.

PS for the cost of the wars here is a live up to date ticker.

http://costofwar.com/

 

[gambit]

But America after 9/11 did behave reckless, undiplomatic, and impatient.

And perhaps the US was that way after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as well.

Not only did they invade Afghanistan but they also invaded Iraq a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.

We never said Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. You got suckered into believing we did.

And please...Enough with the economics of the wars. I can post economists who says the wars have only minor effects on the US economy.

 

[BigDaddyWatch]

And perhaps the US was that way after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as well.

Pearl Harbor was done by a state, 9/11 was done by a organization ie a non state actor. Bush only negotiated for two weeks with the Taliban before attacking Afghanistan. The Taliban government and al-Qaeda where two different things, but the Americans couldn't tell. What happend was a organization attacked America on 9/11 and the Americans attacked two countries in return. Osama bin Laden wanted to draw the US into a war in Afghanistan so that it can worn down the US out like they did against the Russians. And it worked the Americans got suckered in.

We never said Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. You got suckered into believing we did.

You tell me why Iraq was attacked.

And please...Enough with the economics of the wars. I can post economists who says the wars have only minor effects on the US economy.

I can post comments of economist (including Nobel laureates) that said that the war did have a major impact on the US economy. Its a 1,5 trillion dollars effort over the past 12 years and the bills will still be coming in for years to come.