The War in Afghanistan, which was the “REAL war” (during the War in Iraq) has been going on since 2001.
It hasn’t been cheap either.
And one of the contributing factors to that has been just flat-out, cold, hard, cash.
The CIA has been dropping off bags of cash to Afghani President Hamid Karzai’s presidential palace for over a decade now.
In fact:
tens of millions of dollars have flowed from the C.I.A. to the office of President Hamid Karzai, according to current and former advisers to the Afghan leader.
The reason?
[I]n December 2002, Iranians showed up at the palace in a sport utility vehicle packed with cash…[t]he Iranians gave $3 million to well over $10 million a year, Afghan officials said.
On one hand, this is a gross waste of taxpayer dollars. If you have to literally throw money at a problem, it’s not a problem worth solving.
On the other hand, if it keeps the Taliban and Iran away from controlling the country, it’s money well-spent.
On the third hand, Karzai is a gladhanding bastard who just seems to be playing all actors—American, Iranian, and Taliban, for fools, taking everyone’s money, making promises to everyone, not changing a damn thing.
If this is the best solution we can come up with, it seems like it’s time to just pack up and go home.
