After ten years, $60 billion in taxpayers’ money and thousands of U.S. and Iraqi lives, it has become official: the Iraq War was a big waste of money, effort and human lives. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen came to the conclusion in his final report to Congress that the U.S. has spent way too much money for way too few results. The reconstruction effort "grew to a size much larger than was ever anticipated," Bowen told The AP. He added, "Not enough was accomplished for the size of the funds expended."
"You think if you throw money at a problem, you can fix it," Kurdish government official Qubad Talabani told auditors. "It was just not strategic thinking." And if you think the Iraq War was a good idea, the U.S. government has another one for you. So far, U.S. taxpayers have ponied up $90 billion in reconstruction projects in Afghanistan during a 12-year campaign set to end in 2014. It doesn’t take much imagination to make a guess at what the final verdict will be on that effort, though you can bet there are some defense contractors who will be sad to see the wars end.
Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday that the findings are "appalling" but also said the report should prove instructive for future U.S. reconstruction projects. He noted, "We owe this not only to the American taxpayers, but also to the men and women - civilian and uniformed - that we send into dangerous and challenging environments to secure the area and implement U.S. programs."
"You think if you throw money at a problem, you can fix it," Kurdish government official Qubad Talabani told auditors. "It was just not strategic thinking." And if you think the Iraq War was a good idea, the U.S. government has another one for you. So far, U.S. taxpayers have ponied up $90 billion in reconstruction projects in Afghanistan during a 12-year campaign set to end in 2014. It doesn’t take much imagination to make a guess at what the final verdict will be on that effort, though you can bet there are some defense contractors who will be sad to see the wars end.
Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday that the findings are "appalling" but also said the report should prove instructive for future U.S. reconstruction projects. He noted, "We owe this not only to the American taxpayers, but also to the men and women - civilian and uniformed - that we send into dangerous and challenging environments to secure the area and implement U.S. programs."
