Afghanistan Weekly Reader 12/28

Afghanistan Weekly Reader: Millions Wasted in Afghanistan Reconstruction Project

New reports released last week raise further questions about the costs of the Afghanistan war. An U.S. government watchdog audit finds that $13 million worth of electrical equipment "to meet urgent needs in support of the counterinsurgency strategy is sitting unused in storage...without a clear plan for installation." A report
by the Government Accountability Office questions the Pentagon's plan to spend $5.7 billion transporting equipment from Afghanistan. From ASG
12/24/12
Wasteful War Strategy Persists

Afghanistan Study Group by Mary Kaszynski
An accelerated withdrawal of U.S. troops would be good first step, but it falls short of what is needed: a reevaluation of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. ARTICLES
12/18/12
Millions in DOD-funded electric equipment for Afghanistan collecting dust

Foreign Policy's E-Ring by Kevin Baron
The United states hires a private contractor to complete a major infrastructure reconstruction project in a war zone, yet when the equipment goes unused and the project unfinished, the contractor is paid millions - in full - anyway. 12/19/12
Bringing it all back home

Delaware Online by Bill McMichael
More than $36 billion worth of U.S. equipment has accumulated during the past decade in Afghanistan. With the administration currently planning to withdraw all combat troops by December 2014 and turn Afghanistan’s security completely over to its own forces, decisions have to be made. Does the U.S. bring the gear back, give it away or destroy it in place? 12/18/12
No guarantee of troops in Afghanistan past 2014

Navy Times by Andrew Tilghman
A third option - a complete withdrawal leaving no troops - is also a potential outcome, as U.S. decision-makers consider legal protections for American forces, domestic budget pressures and mounting threats elsewhere, some experts say. 12/19/12
Nearly half of UK forces to leave Afghanistan in 2013

Reuters by Peter Griffiths and Matt Falloon
Britain will withdraw nearly half its troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2013, the government said on Wednesday, as part of a security handover to Afghan forces more than a decade after the U.S.-led invasion. 12/13/12
US uniforms, like those used in attacks on bases, still found in Kabul shops

Stars and Stripes by Heath Druzin
When a shopkeeper at a Kabul market was asked if he had any U.S. military uniforms for sale, he answered, “Which unit?” OPINION
12/18/12
No end in sight for Afghanistan war

World News Australia by Ian Bickerton
The main purpose of the attack on the Taliban and Afghanistan was to destroy the al-Qaeda network responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the US. Eleven years later it is still not clear how successful this war has been.