Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Arnold Fields, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, speaks with The Associated Press during an interview at the Pentagon, in this photo taken Thursday, March 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)From Yahoo News/AP:
WASHINGTON – The job of rebuilding Afghanistan is shaping up as an ominous sequel to the massive, mistake-riddled U.S. effort to get Iraq back on its feet.
Since 2001, the U.S. has committed nearly $33 billion for reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. Yet as President Barack Obama sends more troops and aid to quell a growing insurgency, there's been no detailed public accounting of where the money has gone and how effectively it's being spent.
As in Iraq, where the U.S. has contributed $50 billion for rebuilding, the flow of money to Afghanistan outpaces the ability to track it. Already, an inspector general looking into the U.S. handling of Afghanistan reconstruction has found worrisome evidence of lax oversight and costly projects left foundering.
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My Comment: Afghanistan has the potential to be far worse than Iraq. Iraq had an infrastructure (somewhat) and an experienced bureaucracy (when compared to Afghanistan) to function. Afghanistan has nothing but international aid groups, foreign contractors, and an Afghan political class that one can easily classify as warlords. The U.N. sponsored aid groups do not have a great reputation, foreign contractors are just interested in making money .... and the Afghan political/warlord class .... well .... I would just leave that to your imagination.
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