American taxpayers have spent $1 Trillion on the Aghanistan war. What have we gotten for our money? Why wont we leave?

[surada]

I dont see that we have gotten anything for the $1 trillion tax
Payers have spent.

Why are we still there, specifically?

What are your thoughts? I definitely have mine and will share them.

It may be an invitation for a Taliban move into other countries in the region if we are not a threat. More upheaval.

The Taliban will stay in Afghanistan. They are different from AQ, Boko Haram, Al Shabaaz or ISIS.

 

[LuckyDuck]

I dont see that we have gotten anything for the $1 trillion tax
Payers have spent.

Why are we still there, specifically?

What are your thoughts? I definitely have mine and will share them.

Per Afghan custom, when they have a guest(s) in their nation, they are responsible to protect the guest(s). Hence, when the US demanded that the then Taliban government turn over their guest(s) (Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda followers), Afghan custom mandated that they protect them. So, the Taliban government told the US government that they would not turn their guest(s) over to the US and that they would have to come get their guest(s). The US accepted the challenge. Once we killed Osama bin Laden's followers in Afghanistan and killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, we should have pulled out, but the Afghanis opposed to the Taliban government wanted us to stay, so we stayed.
We should have pulled out then and let Afghanistan's Taliban government return to its brutal rule. After all, it's their government and their problem. But, leave it to the good old USA, we are always trying to change governments to one that accepts us. Besides, no foreign military has ever truly conquered Afghanistan and short of nuking the whole country into a glowing radiation pit, no nation will.
Think about it, our great military along with several European allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and we've have been fighting the Taliban for twenty years, unsuccessfully. We've used ground troops, attack helicopters, jets, AC-130 gunships, missiles, MOABS and we still haven't destroyed a force of basically, pajama-clad, flip-flop wearing, turban covered, guerillas, armed with AK-47's, AK-74's, RPG's, mortars and improvised explosive devices.
So, my opinion is, get out and let it devolve back to its backward, brutal type of government.
A better use of the money being wasted, including the money shoveled into foreign nations, would be best used to set up various unused warehouses across the nation, to house the homeless. Provide them with cubicles with bunk-beds and cabinets, showers, heating, cooling and some basic food. In the military bunk-beds and cubicles were good enough for us, so it should be good enough for the homeless.

 

[surada]

I dont see that we have gotten anything for the $1 trillion tax
Payers have spent.

Why are we still there, specifically?

What are your thoughts? I definitely have mine and will share them.

Per Afghan custom, when they have a guest(s) in their nation, they are responsible to protect the guest(s). Hence, when the US demanded that the then Taliban government turn their guest(s) (Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda followers), Afghan custom mandated that they protect them. So, the Taliban government told the US government that they would not turn their guest(s) over to the US and that they would have to come get their guest(s). The US accepted the challenge. Once we killed Osama bin Laden's followers in Afghanistan and killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, we should have pulled out, but the Afghanis opposed to the Taliban government wanted us to stay, so we stayed.
We should have pulled out then and let Afghanistan's Taliban government return to its brutal rule. After all, it's their government and their problem. But, leave it to the good old USA, we are always trying to change governments to one that accepts us. Besides, foreign military has ever truly conquered Afghanistan and short of nuking the whole country into a glowing radiation pit, no nation will.
Think about it, our great military along with several European allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and we've have been fighting the Taliban for twenty years, unsuccessfully. We've used ground troops, attack helicopters, jets, AC-130 gunships, missiles, MOABS and we still haven't destroyed a force of basically, pajama-clad, flip-flop wearing, turban covered, guerillas, armed with AK-47's, AK-74's, RPG's, mortars and improvised explosive devices.
So, my opinion is, get out and let it devolve back to its backward, brutal type of government.

A better use of the money being wasted, including the money shoveled into foreign nations, would be best used to set up various unused warehouses across the nation, to house the homeless. Provide them with cubicles with bunk-beds and cabinets, showers, heating, cooling and some basic food. In the military bunk-beds and cubicles were good enough for us, so it should be good enough for the homeless.

You're correct about protecting your guests.

Afghanistan once had a literate citizenry, cafes, cinemas and all the trappings of modernity until 1974 when the Communists overthrew the monarchy.

 

[ColonelAngus]

So no one can tell me what we have gotten for our money from the Afghan war?

We all paid for it. What did it get us?

 

[harmonica]

I dont see that we have gotten anything for the $1 trillion tax
Payers have spent.

Why are we still there, specifically?

What are your thoughts? I definitely have mine and will share them.

1. we were there initially because we were attacked
2. part of it is to help those Afghanis who helped us there
--a. we went there to kill the jackasses that attacked us....those jackasses have people that sympathized with them and hate the people who helped us...go to # 3
3. it is very complex--very complex

....we don't want to think we can change the culture/politics/etc--at least not for a few years or a decade .....at least we don't have a MASSIVE presence there

 

[harmonica]

So no one can tell me what we have gotten for our money from the Afghan war?

We all paid for it. What did it get us?

..wars cost mucho $$$$$$$$$
......for defeating hitler we did not get much--in fact, we got many MORE problems because WW2 caused great instability and RE-construction of politics/etc

 

[MadChemist]

Gotta be more than that......smart bombs aint cheap

What have we gotten for whatever we have spent?

$ 2 trillion?

The official count is about a trillion..

some say 2.

What did we get for our money.....specifically?

It's the body count that bothers me

 

[ColonelAngus]

So no one can tell me what we have gotten for our money from the Afghan war?

We all paid for it. What did it get us?

..wars cost mucho $$$$$$$$$
......for defeating hitler we did not get much--in fact, we got many MORE problems because WW2 caused great instability and RE-construction of politics/etc

We got plenty by defeating Hitler and The Axis. Are you kidding me?

 

[ColonelAngus]

It can be frusstrating at times to talk any specifics on this board. Thanks to those who actually educate themselves a bit.

It is not tough to educate yourself about what is really going on in the world.

We are still in Afghanistan because it is making money for those in power. Period.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Here is my take....

1) MASSIVE REBUILDING CONTRACTS TO CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES FOR REPAIRING INFRASTRUCTURE WE BLOW UP.

2) Afghanistan has crazy levels of precious minerals to mine...with over 1,400 mineral occurrences recorded to date, including gold, copper, lithium, uranium, iron ore, cobalt, natural gas and oil. Afghanistan's resources could make it one of the richest mining regions in the world.

The USA is defintely taking advantage of this!

3) Military industrial complex. Keep building bombs and dropping them...and invoice the taxpayer!

4) Poppies. We control the heroin prices around the world...and dont allow too much heroin so the prices drop and much that BIG PHARMA cannot sell as much opiates as it does now.

These are the big 4. All with massive kicksbacks and back scratching to the deep staters involved.

Those are some of the specifics as I see it.

WHAT ARE YOUR SPECIFIC REASONS WE ARE STILL IN AFGHANISTAN AFTER 20 years and will not leave?

2 Pub Presidents....2 Dem Presidents.....and we have no committed timeline!

The US won't be accessing Afghanistan's natural resources. China has had successful mining operations for over a decade along with a railroad they built and Port Gwadar as hub to the far east Trump got quite breathless when he learned about it in 2018. LOLOL

Yeah, those ports in landlocked countries like Afghanistan are extremely costly to build

 

[surada]

Here is my take....

1) MASSIVE REBUILDING CONTRACTS TO CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES FOR REPAIRING INFRASTRUCTURE WE BLOW UP.

2) Afghanistan has crazy levels of precious minerals to mine...with over 1,400 mineral occurrences recorded to date, including gold, copper, lithium, uranium, iron ore, cobalt, natural gas and oil. Afghanistan's resources could make it one of the richest mining regions in the world.

The USA is defintely taking advantage of this!

3) Military industrial complex. Keep building bombs and dropping them...and invoice the taxpayer!

4) Poppies. We control the heroin prices around the world...and dont allow too much heroin so the prices drop and much that BIG PHARMA cannot sell as much opiates as it does now.

These are the big 4. All with massive kicksbacks and back scratching to the deep staters involved.

Those are some of the specifics as I see it.

WHAT ARE YOUR SPECIFIC REASONS WE ARE STILL IN AFGHANISTAN AFTER 20 years and will not leave?

2 Pub Presidents....2 Dem Presidents.....and we have no committed timeline!

The US won't be accessing Afghanistan's natural resources. China has had successful mining operations for over a decade along with a railroad they built and Port Gwadar as hub to the far east Trump got quite breathless when he learned about it in 2018. LOLOL

Yeah, those ports in landlocked countries like Afghanistan are extremely costly to build

Look at a map.. Gwadar is on the Persian Gulf in the province of Balouchistan.

 

[MarathonMike]

It was a last ditch effort to bail out ENRON.. Its just easier to start a war than end one.

HUH???

 

[danielpalos]

There is no general warfare clause nor any common offense clause in our federal Constitution. Only our welfare clause is General.

 

[my2¢]

I've read that the latest Iraq war costs U.S. more than $2 trillion. Now that one I disagreed with from before its start.

 

[surada]

I dont see that we have gotten anything for the $1 trillion tax
Payers have spent.

Why are we still there, specifically?

What are your thoughts? I definitely have mine and will share them.

1. we were there initially because we were attacked
2. part of it is to help those Afghanis who helped us there
--a. we went there to kill the jackasses that attacked us....those jackasses have people that sympathized with them and hate the people who helped us...go to # 3
3. it is very complex--very complex

....we don't want to think we can change the culture/politics/etc--at least not for a few years or a decade .....at least we don't have a MASSIVE presence there

9-11 didn't involve any state actor. We went to Afghanistan because of ENRON.. ENRON needed a gas pipeline across Afghanistan to Enron's Dabhol Power project in India.

 

[ColonelAngus]

I dont see that we have gotten anything for the $1 trillion tax
Payers have spent.

Why are we still there, specifically?

What are your thoughts? I definitely have mine and will share them.

1. we were there initially because we were attacked
2. part of it is to help those Afghanis who helped us there
--a. we went there to kill the jackasses that attacked us....those jackasses have people that sympathized with them and hate the people who helped us...go to # 3
3. it is very complex--very complex

....we don't want to think we can change the culture/politics/etc--at least not for a few years or a decade .....at least we don't have a MASSIVE presence there

9-11 didn't involve any state actor. We went to Afghanistan because of ENRON.. ENRON needed a gas pipeline across Afghanistan to Enron's Dabhol Power project in India.

Afghanistan was harboring Bin Ladin.

 

[AzogtheDefiler]

I dont see that we have gotten anything for the $1 trillion tax
Payers have spent.

Why are we still there, specifically?

What are your thoughts? I definitely have mine and will share them.

Dead Islamists

 

[TheParser]

Some very sincere and idealistic people refuse to accept brutal reality: Some nations (like some human beings) are hopeless. They will never change.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

We went to Afghanistan because of ENRON..

Baloney. Enron was already restating their earnings in mid-October and declaring bankruptcy on December 1.

 

[surada]

We went to Afghanistan because of ENRON..

Baloney. Enron was already restating their earnings in mid-October and declaring bankruptcy on December 1.

I know.

U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan begins - HISTORY

U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan begins | October 7, 2001 | HISTORY

On October 7, 2001, a U.S.-led coalition begins attacks on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan with an intense bombing campaign by American and British forces. Logistical support was provided by other nations including France, Germany, Australia and Canada and, later, troops were provided by the...

www.history.com

U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan begins On October 7, 2001, a U.S.-led coalition begins attacks on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan with an intense bombing campaign by American and British forces.