U.S. indirectly funding Afghan warlords: House report

U.S. indirectly funding Afghan warlords: House report

www.reuters.com

The United States is indirectly paying tens of millions of dollars in protection money to Afghan warlords, and potentially to the Taliban, to secure convoys carrying supplies to U.S. troops in Afghanistan, congressional investigators said in a report.
The Pentagon's system of outsourcing to private companies the task of moving supplies in Afghanistan, and leaving it up to them to provide their own security, frees U.S. troops to focus on counterinsurgency.

But its unintended consequences undermine U.S. efforts to curtail corruption and build an effective Afghan government, according to the

(visit the link for the full news article)


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Well isn't this interesting! After the Supreme court said yesterday that funding terrorists is illegal, we find that the US Government is the first to be guilty of such practices. My my what a surprise!

Its enough to have all the issues we do, but now our hard earned tax payer dollars go to paying the people that the same people state are our enemies.

Now I find something particularly disturbing about our governments actions lately.

Seriously.

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Yes isnt it crazy that your tax dollars are funding the Taliban who in turn buy weapons to fight the Americans who in turn need more of your Tax dollars to fight back.

sounds to me like a pretty good business model.


according to some sources 10% of the Talibans funding comes from the U.S.
so that means 1 soldier in 10 died thanks to a bullet paid by you the Taxpayer.

and thats not even counting all the drug money the Taliban gets.

CrAzY...



[edit on 22-6-2010 by Pan7her]

Originally posted by theability

Now I find something particularly disturbing about our governments actions lately.

Not the first time the U.S. has funded the Taliban.
This illegal occupation, like Iraq, stinks to high heaven with corruption.
Big companies making big cash.
And now this, you couldn't make it up!

thanks for the info theability

I guess it is a good thing our tax dollars are gettig to the people that need it the most, the people the U.S. Government is at war with...? Joke

The IRS looks for any mistake on your tax return to hunt you down and force you to pay your taxes correctly. They need that money really bad guys!

Our government takes that money we worked so hard for and just hands it away to a random country's Warlords to protect our military's supply lines. The Warlords then buy weapons from Russia and Iran to protect our supply lines from who? Who is the enemy again? If we weren't paying the Warlords to protect us they would be attacking us for using their land.

So, in essence we are revealing our tactical supply routes by paying our enemy to buy weapons from our long-term enemies, which will arm them to the teeth to protect us from themselves. That way we can say evil Iran and Russia are supplying the Tailiban with weapons, and it also gives us an armed army to fight. All the while, this is makes the country increasingly more unstable and gives us a reason for to be there for the occupation.

It is a werid economic circle of war that keeps the machine alive and well. What?!



[edit on 22-6-2010 by tooo many pills]

Originally posted by tooo many pills
The Warlords then buy weapons from Russia and Iran

ahhh yes, spot on.
and when we attack Iran, they have plenty of money from the Afghan warlords to make it a good long war to keep the military machine well oiled.

reply to post by theability


You really cant blame this on "government" per se. This is the problem with our version of a "free market." This is a problem with removing government and bringing in private companies into war zones.

Corporations pursue profit, its what they do. This means they pursue efficiency, its what they do. This means if it is more efficient to pay off the enemy to move the goods your employer wants moved, that what they do.

Even though it is counter productive to your customer in the long run as it funds the enemy. Thats not your problem, as a corporations. Besides, a better funded enemy means a longer war, which means more money for you. The corporation has zero motive to do anything other than what it is doing.

Hail to the Gods of the free market, right folks? Surely it can do no wrong.

I really hope you are not serious illusionsaregrander. I could definitely understand that is the mindset of private military contractors - however I have a problem with using private military contractors to begin with.

There are huge problems with accountability when you outsource what should be functions of the government to for profit corporations.

So yes, i can blame the government for this, as they are the ones that decided to utilize these private security contractors to begin with.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
reply to post by theability

 

You really cant blame this on "government" per se. This is the problem with our version of a "free market."

How could you say you cant blame the government, when they were the ones that hired the corporations.

reply to post by djzombie


No, its not in governments interest to downsize itself. Its not them that brought in private companies to do this, well, not all on their own. It is OUR fault, for buying into all the right wing, "Government is inefficient and evil" crap and electing the corporate sponsored candidates in who promised us they would privatize everything.

We did this. Not government itself. We are the ones electing corporate sponsored candidates, we even KNOW they are corporate sponsored and we still elect them.

Understanding motivation is key. A bureaucracy is motivated to perpetuate bureaucracy. Government would have happily continued providing those functions. WE told them not to. With our votes.

We have a duty to think things through. Some things should be privatized, IF and ONLY IF, you have a government that is not essentially a puppet government for corporate interests. People are so damn brainwashed into the "Oh its good for business, therefore it is good for me" line of thinking that they dont even try to think for themselves.

Bottom line, this isnt "the governments" fault. Its our fault. We have been electing pro-corporate, anti government politicians for over 40 years, and this is the crop we reap. We are greedy, unintelligent people. How can you tell, our campaign slogans are simple chants. "Yes we can!" "Drill baby drill!" Everyone knows how simple minded we are but us. We are doing this to ourselves and blaming everyone else, even creating Reptilians to blame for gods sake, rather than looking in the mirror at the idiots staring back at us.

We need to wake the hell up people.

reply to post by Pan7her



You are the one who hired them, arent you?

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander

You really cant blame this on "government" per se. This is the problem with our version of a "free market." This is a problem with removing government and bringing in private companies into war zones.

Corporations pursue profit, its what they do.

Yes it is, even selling out the country that supports them also.

I am sure you agree, the military has it share of the issue with funding woes regarding terrorism and funneling of funds.

reply to post by theability


I cant make this any more simple.

WE vote the corporate sponsored, anti government candidates into office.

WE are the ones who are destroying our own governments power to govern with OUR votes. This is not a fascist state. Yet. But at the rate we are going, it will be in short order.

But there is no military coup here people, WE are voting them in, and WE are standing idly by and watching it all happen. Just because someone has a TV ad selling horsecrap doesnt mean you have to buy it. Thats on us. Not the advertisers.

It is our own greed, and laziness, that motivates us to vote in anyone who promises us the pie in the sky. We do that. You can sit back and blame the government all you want, but as the voter, WE are responsible for gutting our government. Because we were promised trinkets and shiny glass beads in exchange for our country.

Its a matter of long term self interest over short term self interest, and face it, people around the world will trade their long term self interest for short term promises of gain again and again without even thinking it through. Its not even a new game, we have no excuse for falling for it. We are just lazy (politically, intellectually) and greedy(materialistically).

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
reply to post by theability

 

WE vote the corporate sponsored, anti government candidates into office.

WE are the ones who are destroying our own governments power to govern with OUR votes.

and many people voted for this guy that wanted change.
he wanted to end the war in iraq.
unfortunately he didnt say anything about escalating the war in afghanistan.

most people got suckered into that one, thinking they are voting in a peaceful president.
Instead we got a deceptive one that just told people what they wanted to hear, and kept his mouth shut on what he was actually going to do.

Originally posted by Pan7her

and many people voted for this guy that wanted change.
he wanted to end the war in iraq.
unfortunately he didnt say anything about escalating the war in afghanistan.

most people got suckered into that one, thinking they are voting in a peaceful president.

No one suckered the people. They suckered themselves.

It was all over the media that Obama was the most heavily corporate sponsored candidate of all time. In history. The fact that the majority chose to overlook that little tidbit is on them. Not him.

I remember a leaked communication with some Canadian minister of something saying that they should not take what he said on the campaign trail too seriously. He was going to hook them up after he was elected and honor the trade agreements.

No one suckered us. We suckered ourselves. You vote Republican or Democrat you are voting corporations into office. Period. End of sentence. Not matter how charming or beguiling they may be. They are personalities, not Presidents. Sponsored by corporate interests for their ability to keep us happy, (and act as scapegoats if things go wrong) not to serve our real interests.

But we vote for them. No one makes us.