‘How US squandered $2trn on Afghan war’

 ‘How US squandered $2trn on Afghan war’

 

  • Loses 2500 soldiers, 4000 contractors
  • Spends $300bn on treating wounded troops
  • Expends combined net worth of 30 richest US billionaires on Afghan war
  • Finances war with borrowed funds, repays $500bn in interest
  • Interest on Afghan war debt could reach $6.5trillion by 2050

The United States Government has spent over $2trillion to prosecute the war in Afghanistan in the past 20 years since the 9/11 destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

A breakdown of this revealed that the US spent $300million per day or $50,000 for every person in Afghanistan’s 40million population in the past two decades.

According to a 1:58 documentary by Forbes, US has spent more trying to contain the Taliban than the combined net worths of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and the 30 richest billionaires in America in the past 20 years.

Within the same period, the US reportedly earmarked $800billion as direct war fighting costs.

$85billion was reportedly spent on the training of Afghan military, “which ended up folding and surrendering in the weeks since the Pentagon closed Bagram AirForce Base in July.”

Forbes further reports, “This effectively removed American air support against the Taliban.”

The US also allocated $750million yearly to the payment of salaries for Afghan soldiers in the past two decades.

The human costs of the war was also enormous, Forbes reports.
While 47,000 Afghans civilians and 69000 security forces were killed during the period, over 3000 coalition troops, including 2,500 US military personnel lost their lives.
Over 4000 US contractors were also killed during the period.

Read More  Republicans propose alternate Covid relief plan to Biden

Forbes also reports that an estimated 51,000 opposition fighters were killed.

It added that the cost so far expended on caring for the 20,000 Americans wounded in the Afghan war has been about $300billion “with another half a trillion or so expected to come.”

Forbes further reports that the US financed the war with borrowed funds.

It stated that researchers at Brown University estimate more than $500billion in interest has already been paid.

“They think that by 2050, the cost of interest alone on our Afghan war debt could reach $6.5trillion. That equals about $20,000 for every US citizen,” Forbes reports.

lagosstreetjournal

Related post