New York: The U.S. has spent about $ 1 trillion to restore peace and stability in Afghanistan. Spent. But the Taliban have regained control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces. With this, the question is whether the crores of rupees spent by the US for so long have not been wasted.
The US Congress has appointed a monitoring committee to assess the success or failure of US intervention in Afghanistan in recent years. The monitoring team was called the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Cigar). The group found that many of the projects implemented by the United States in Afghanistan were wasteful. The ten most important of these projects are described separately.
$ 549 million aircraft
The U.S. has agreed to pay $ 549 million for the upgraded 20G222 twin-turboprop aircraft. Spent. The money was spent as part of efforts to strengthen the Afghan Air Force. Of these, 16 planes went on strike due to continuous maintenance. All of these planes, which were unfit to fly, were abandoned at Kabul airport. All these were later sold at an aggravated price.
Damaged roads …
The U.S. has spent about $ 176 million to build a 101-kilometer road between Gardas City and Khost Province in Afghanistan. Spent. But within a month of the construction, cigar inspectors found that many parts of the road were damaged. According to the 2016 audit report, the road was damaged in five places and the road was washed away in two places.
Great for uniforms too
The U.S. has pledged $ 28 million to buy uniforms for the Afghan army. Spent. The design of these uniforms was not suitable for the conditions in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said in a statement that the decision was taken “in the interest of the Afghan defense minister”.
Buildings …
In 2012, the U.S. awarded a $ 500,000 million contract to an Afghan contractor to build a training range in Logar province. Provided by. The project is designed in the unique style of Afghan villages. But four months after taking over the management of the training range, inspectors report that major faults have been found.
Examination revealed that the blocks used for construction were more muddy. With this, all the blocks melted quickly. The January 2015 audit report described the buildings as crumbling.
Against the drug mafia …
Drug production and sales are a major source of income for terrorist organizations, including the Taliban. Afghanistan is one of the largest producers of opium in the world.
The U.S. has spent $ 8.6 billion to fight drug gangs in Afghanistan over 15 years. Spent. Despite such spending, drug production in Afghanistan has not diminished. Opium production in Afghanistan has reportedly broken records since 2017. Drug trafficking has also increased.
Failure in the power sector too …
The U.S. is a power station that supplies electricity to one million Afghans. Was planned. The U.S. has a $ 116 million contract with an Afghan company. Engaged. However, due to the mismanagement of the engineers, it was found that the $ 60 million spent was wasted.
Problems including land acquisition could not be resolved. The agreement did not stipulate that a permanent system should be set up to supply power from the power station. Moreover, the auditors had found that it was dangerous for the people living near the towers and lines set up as part of the project.
Unused headquarters
The U.S. headquarters in Helmand province is a $ 36 million, 64,000-square-foot command-and-control headquarters. Built by the military. The building, which can accommodate 1500 people, was equipped with a state-of-the-art war room.
An inspector described the building as one of the best he had ever seen during his visit to Afghanistan. However, the building has not yet been used despite the cost.
Loan for hotel building …
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation had borrowed $ 85 million to build a 209-room hotel building and 150 rooms adjacent to the Kabul Grand Residence apartment building. But the finding is that there has been a major failure to deal with it. Officials said construction of the hotel and apartment building was not complete and that the building was just like a shell.
Unused military camp …
The Pentagon has spent $ 3.7 million to build a military base along the Turkmenistan border. During a 2013 inspection it was found to be partially completed but left unusable. The report also said that key areas such as the administration building and firing ranges could not be used.
At the same time, a Pentagon official explained that the camp could not be used because of the lack of food facilities.
Crores for Afghan army …
The U.S. has spent about $ 83 billion on the Afghan military over 20 years. Spent. U.S. As the army withdrew from Afghanistan, the Afghan army was weakened. The Taliban, on the other hand, grew stronger.
The U.S. has tons of weapons and military equipment. Exported for the Afghan army. But all this was captured by the Taliban. The Taliban seized US-provided aircraft, helicopters and weapons.
Content Highlights: how us blew their money in afganisthan
.
