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Nov. 28, 2009 It costs the U.S. taxpayer 1,000,000 dollars per year to keep one soldier in Afghanistan. This does not include the cost of maintaining two aircraft carriers with their attending support and escort vessels in the Arabian Sea. Also not included are contractors, civilian employees, bloated embassy staff, money for the ANA (Afghan National Army), development projects, police. Nor it includes, the millions that go into Afghan politicians pockets for their Swiss villas, nor the medical care of wounded, nor funeral costs of those who lose their lives. In these days of economic crisis in the U.S., these huge expenditures don’t bring any benefit for Americans, not even added security. On the contrary, if anything, it provides a moral high ground for extremist recruitment. If this money was invested in the U.S. economy, it would significantly contribute to get the country out of its economic slump. Three million, profit producing, jobs would be created. This new economic activity would incentivate other businesses. So far, in the Obama administration, there has been little done besides printing dollars, which has depreciated this formerly stable currency by over 20% just during 2009. What is it that encourages American politicians to embark on such a disastrous course of waging war at a time it can least afford it? In London, the opening of a panel investigating how Britain got involved in the Iraq fiasco may provide some answers. In its first session: Sir Peter Ricketts, a former chairman of Britain’s powerful Joint Intelligence Committee, who is now the top civil servant in the Foreign Office, said officials in London knew even before Mr. Bush came to office in 2001 that there were “voices” in Washington calling for Mr. Hussein to be removed from power. (New York Times November 25, 2009). “Voices,” sounds like something out of a thriller plot. As an espionage thriller writer, I did some circulating amid Washington’s intelligence community and fictionalized some of the Voices I’ve heard. Some of the Voices are well known: Rumsfeldt, Perle, Wolfowitz, Cheney and other Neocons. What is less known is where the money comes from to finance these fine gentlemen and their think-tanks dedicated to promote wars.
I wonder who approached Obama and what incentives or threats were offered by the Voices for him to make such ill-advised and self-damaging statement as: Afghanistan is a war of necessity.
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