Billions In U.S. Aid Wasted In Afghanistan

[babylonsister]

Billions In U.S. Aid Wasted In Afghanistan
Lara Logan Reports That On The Reconstruction Burden When Projects Go Unfinished


JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2007

(CBS) American doctor Dave Warner is on a mission in eastern Afghanistan to show people back home how billions of taxpayer dollars sent here are being wasted.

“When I was here in December,” Warner told CBS News chief forign correspondent Lara Logan. “This was full so you can see they've dug another pit over here.”

Rotting bio-waste is dumped in the hospital's backyard because as Warner and the hospital director showed us next — the new waste incinerator donated by the U.S. government is completely useless. Even if the hospital knew how to run it, they can't afford the fuel.

“It’s not used very often … at all,” he said.

It was a gift from the American people.

“Isn’t that nice?” Warner said.

Warner is a public health expert from San Diego who's taken it upon himself to do what no one else in Afghanistan seems to be doing — documenting the failures in reconstruction. He says the system can't be fixed unless those responsible first admit that it's broken.

But it's a hard sell. Warner says he has tried to report his findings to officials at the Pentagon.

“I was brought aside and they told me, don't tell that story,” Warner said. “I said why not. And they said well, this is one of our success stories.”

more...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/25/eveningnews/main2852531.shtml

[NaturalHigh]

1. I don't doubt that billions are wasted in Afghanistan...

just as billions are wasted in many other places. There is a startling lack of oversight concerning US aid donations.

[shadowknows69]

2. But someone is making sure those poppies are still growing

[partylessinOhio]

3. This reminds me of the air conditioner in a regional office in Iraq.

The American military commander was sweating while trying to speak to the Iraqi council members through an interpreter. He asked, "What's wrong with the air conditioner we sent you?" They answered that it doesn't work. The commander knew that wasn't true.

The Iraqis were used to the heat and they just weren't about to be told that they had to run an air conditioner.

We need to butt out of these countries and let them run their lives the way they want. Let them purchase items that will be used - not what some politically well connected companies want them to have to beef up their profits.

:thumbsdown:

[devilgrrl]

4. Wow, those fiscally adept conservatives sure know how to manage money, don't they?

:sarcasm: