In an effort to win over the Afghan population, the US has poured Millions of our tax dollars to upgrade the power system. Like others things in the Afghan war, even this is not going according to plan. It turns out that the actual beneficiary of these new power plants, is the Taliban. One again American taxmoney is aiding our enemies to the detriment of American soldiers. This is madness and I hope Gen. Patraeus’s review of the war includes securing supply lines and power stations. The course of the war is unsustainable in terms of lives and treasure.
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan—The U.S. has poured more than $100 million into upgrading the Kajaki hydropower plant, the biggest source of electricity in south Afghanistan. And it plans on spending much more, in an effort to woo local sympathies away from the Taliban insurgency.
Yet, one of the biggest beneficiaries of this American-taxpayer-financed project are the Taliban themselves.
Since U.S.-funded repairs of a turbine at the Kajaki plant doubled its capacity in October, nearly half of the total electrical output has flowed to districts in Helmand province where the Taliban administer the grid, Afghan officials say. In those districts, residents pay their monthly electricity bills directly to the insurgents, who use the proceeds to fund their war with American and British troops.
“The more electricity there is, the more money the Taliban make,” says Hajji Gul Mohammad Khan, tribal-affairs adviser to the government of Helmand.
Read the rest: U.S. Rebuilds Power Plant, Taliban Reap a Windfall
Our mission in Afghanistan should be to kill the enemy and humiliate them. We need to instill fear in them, instead the Islamic forces laugh at us. We build schools, roads and hospitals while they build bombs and kill out troops. They are fighting for the Islamic nation, we are fighting for the naive Wilsonian Progressive concept of spreading Democracy. The US should only fight for our national interest and fight to win. No mercy is to be shown our adversaries and we should not be spending tax money to assist them.
America’s is the world’s sucker. We die while nations like China win oil and mineral contracts and Europeans get to party. Enough is enough already, America needs to wake up stand up for itself.
