As much as $60 billion in U.S. funds has been lost to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade through lax oversight, poor planning and payoffs to warlords and insurgents. In its final report to Congress, the Commission on Wartime Contracting said the figure could grow as U.S. support for reconstruction projects and programs wanes, leaving both countries to bear the long-term costs of sustaining the schools, medical clinics, barracks, roads and power plants already built with American tax dollars.
Read the whole Associated Press piece up at the Huffington Post.
The reports and associated evidence of this has been available since Bushco rushed us into invading Iraq and Afghanistan over 10 years ago. And I'm willing to bet that the $60 Billion is a low-ball number. They aught to take it out of Bush, Cheney, and Rummy's backsides – they can afford it.
Why just blame Bush&co as if Obama has nothing to do with the continuing charade. They give money to the insurgents to make sure the perpetual war continues.
This loss of funds does not even take into account all the no-bid contracts and the "value added" contracts whereby contractors burn a brand new Ford Excursion because it needed an alternator because they would be paid $70 thousand for a vehicle that only costs $45 thousand.
This is your 401K, social security, stocks and bonds paying for this via inflation. The problem is that most Americans are too stupid to draw lines of causation.
Thanks Bush, Cheney, Obama, et al., what a legacy. Hard to tell which are the biggest crooks, banksters or war lords.