"USAID hasn't been an aggressive watchdog in Afghanistan, partly because it's under political pressure to pump billions into the country without regard to the quality of the work, Jackson said. It also lacks the resources and expertise to monitor the projects, she said." (parag. 21)
12/21/11, "Soldiers Leaving Iraq May Head To Afghanistan," CNN, C. Carter, via 10news.com
"Soldiers who just returned from Iraq are among several thousand being ordered to Afghanistan in six months as part of a mission designed to beef up Afghan forces ahead of a planned 2014 U.S. military withdrawal, officials said. News of the pending Afghanistan deployments came as families at bases across the country were celebrating the return in recent days of troops who turned off the lights at a number of U.S. bases ahead of an end-of-the-year deadline to leave Iraq. "We are glad that we have brought all soldiers back home in time for Christmas to spend with loved ones. We do have to put information out about an upcoming mission, though," the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division,
In the posting, the brigade said it was one of four selected to "support a Security Force Assistance Mission to Afghanistan in early summer." "We just received initial planning orders so lots of details are unknown," it said. "...The mission is part of the transition from combat operations to advisory mission as we did in Iraq and is a sign of progress. "Maj. Carla Thomas, a brigade spokeswoman, confirmed the validity of the Facebook announcement. The new mission is part of an overall U.S. military exit strategy from Afghanistan that moves troops from a combat role to advise-and-assist positions that commanders and analysts say will significantly scale back operations ahead of President Barack Obama's self-imposed deadline to leave the country.....
Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, has said he would like to keep a U.S. "military presence" in Afghanistan beyond 2014 when NATO is scheduled to withdraw its forces. Allen suggested the presence could last as long as 2016 when the Afghan Air Force is completed. Allen told reporters last week there is "no daylight" between him and the White House on this idea. Allen said he wants to shift the U.S. presence to an advisory capacity in the coming months and then continue to do that mission after 2014....
In its Facebook posting, the 4th Brigade Combat Team said those who would be deployed in advise-and-assist roles would be senior enlisted personnel, ranging from master sergeants to colonels.The deployment was expected to last nine months, though it was unclear how many members of the brigade will deploy. Also being deployed are troops from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia; the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson, Colorado; and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.The brigade deployments were first reported this week by Stars and Stripes, a newspaper that caters to military personnel.
Under an Army policy, troops are given one month of dwell time for every month they are deployed. In the case of 1st Armored Division's brigade, which returned in December after less than six months in Iraq, its soldiers could be sent to Afghanistan as early as May....Reactions at Fort Bliss were mixed with some soldiers and families telling CNN by telephone that they were resigned to the specter of an Afghanistan deployment, while others said they were surprised elements of the brigade would be deployed so soon after returning from Iraq. None of the soldiers or their family members were willing to be quoted, citing possible repercussions over speaking to the media without prior approval. Responses to the brigade's Facebook post, though, revealed the feelings of spouses and family members.
"All we can do is enjoy the time we have with them," one person wrote.Another wrote: "Not even home a week. How sad."..."Given that we are 10 years into this, my confidence level is pretty low that we can turn the Afghan forces around," Roggio said.The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan began October 7, 2001, with an air campaign that was followed within weeks by a ground invasion....Earlier this year, the president announced a plan to withdraw its troops. The move was followed by withdrawal announcements by most of the NATO nations."
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9/19/10, "U.S. contractor accused of fraud still winning big Afghan projects," McClatchy, Marisa Taylor and Warren P. Stroebel
US couldn't trace criminal spending even if it wanted to.
"Subcontractors are impossible to trace."...
===================$6 billion a month is diverted from US taxpayers not for a war but to enrich criminals:
7/25/11, "U.S. trucking funds end up in Taliban hands," Reuters
"Cash from part of a $2.16 billion U.S. transportation contract in Afghanistan has ended up in the hands of Taliban insurgents, the Pentagon said on Monday."...
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10/13/10, "Afghan firms "pay off Taliban with foreign [American] cash," Reuters
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9/25/11, "Government by crime syndicate," LA Times, Op-ed, Sarah Chayes,
"In Afghanistan and elsewhere, rampant corruption threatens security and the rule of law."
"Afghanistan is controlled by a structured, mafiaesque system, in which money flows upward via purchase of office, kickbacks or "sweets" in return for permission to extract resources (of which more varieties exist in impoverished Afghanistan than one might think)."...
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