It Costs $50 Million To Kill One Taliban Soldier

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Carson Ferraro mans a .50-caliber door gun while flying an aerial reconnaissance mission over Camp Baston, Afghanistan, Sept. 3, 2010. Ferraro, a UH-1Y Huey crew chief, is assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ryan Rholes

Killing Each Taliban Soldier Costs $50 Million -- Information Clearing House

October 05, 2010 "Kabul Press" - -- The Pentagon will not tell the public what it costs to locate, target and kill a single Taliban soldier because the price-tag is so scandalously high that it makes the Taliban appear to be Super-Soldiers. As set out in this article, the estimated cost to kill each Taliban is as high as $100 million, with a conservative estimate being $50 million. A public discussion should be taking place in the United States regarding whether the Taliban have become too expensive an enemy to defeat.

Each month the Pentagon generates a ream of dubious statistics designed to create the illusion of progress in Afghanistan. In response this author decided to compile his own statistics. As the goal of any war is to kill the enemy, the idea was to calculate what it actually costs to kill just one of the enemy. The obstacles encountered in generating such a statistic are formidable. The problem is that the Pentagon continues to illegally classify all negative war news and embarrassing information. Regardless, some information has been collected from independent sources. Here is what we know in summary and round numbers:

1. Taliban Field Strength: 35,000 troops

2. Taliban Killed Per Year by Coalition forces: 2,000 (best available information)

3. Pentagon Direct Costs for Afghan War for 2010: $100 billion

4. Pentagon Indirect Costs for Afghan War for 2010: $100 billion

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My Comment: Are such stats depressing .... you betcha. Is something wrong .... you betcha again. What is our solution .... surge and spend more.