The amount the U.S. military spends annually on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20.2 billion.That seems almost impossible, but it gives an idea of how expensive these wars are. We've flushed so much money down the drain in these wars the past 10 years, and that doesn't even take into account the men and women killed and wounded. The sooner we are gone, the better.
That's more than NASA's budget. It's more than BP has paid so far for damage during the Gulf oil spill. It's what the G-8 has pledged to help foster new democracies in Egypt and Tunisia.
"When you consider the cost to deliver the fuel to some of the most isolated places in the world — escorting, command and control, medevac support — when you throw all that infrastructure in, we're talking over $20 billion," Steven Anderson tells weekends on All Things Considered guest host Rachel Martin. Anderson is a retired brigadier general who served as Gen. David Patreaus' chief logistician in Iraq.
Why does it cost so much?
To power an air conditioner at a remote outpost in land-locked Afghanistan, a gallon of fuel has to be shipped into Karachi, Pakistan, then driven 800 miles over 18 days to Afghanistan on roads that are sometimes little more than "improved goat trails," Anderson says. "And you've got risks that are associated with moving the fuel almost every mile of the way."
Monday, June 27, 2011
Cost of A/C in Iraq and Afghanistan
All Things Considered, via the Dish:
Labels:
War
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment