Thread: Reports That Pentagon Funding of Taliban is "Unintentio

In the wake of the report from a congressional subcommittee which confirms that massive amounts of Pentagon money (perhaps equaling or exceeding the Taliban's opium profits) finance the Taliban insurgency through a "protection racket" for truck convoys, media reports have been careful to hedge descriptions of the funding as "unintentional." This CBS news report mirrors the AP write-up, which states:

Criminal investigators are examining allegations that Afghan security firms have been extorting as much as $4 million a week from contractors paid with U.S. tax dollars and then funneling the spoils to warlords and the Taliban. If the allegations are true, the U.S. would be unintentionally financing the enemy and undermining international efforts to stabilize the country.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is simply not correct. The truth is much worse.

The report is "Warlord Inc," summary here.

Although it may be understandable if the Pentagon insists on the use of this word "unintentional," which lessens the impact, especially among military families, of finding out that many of the weapons and explosives used against their loved ones were paid for by funds from the U.S. Treasury, the Pentagon has known for years that this has been going on. It may be "reluctantly," but it is not "unintentionally." Unintentional implies a lack of deliberation and knowledge of consequences. The Tierney subcommittee report at many points includes statements such as:

[quote]"When HNT contractors self-reported to the military that they were being extorted by warlords for protection payments for safe passage and that these payments were “funding the insurgency,â€

Our out of control government has no respect for the military or the men in uniform. They are treated like puppets in a chess game. Until these men and women are elivated to their rightful place and given the power to control that is necessary for us to truly win wars we will continue to suffer at the hands of the usurpers.

I wanted to jump through the TV and strangle Boxer when I saw this clip.

Boxer: "Call me Senator, I've earned it!" General demeaned at Senate hearing over Ma'am "title"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeY2fI8Z6Pc

We pay the enemy protection money to move equipment to our military.

What...is there to say...

Our soldier is home right now but if he redeploys...let's just say the government will not get away with this. Call your senators and congressman, no need to be a lady or a gentleman for this call nasty language is justified, this time.


TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN NOW! USE MONEY TO SECURE US BORDERS!