Some people say that the war business is good business. After all, the United States has spent over $2 trillion trying to combat radical Islam in the middle east to little or no avail.
According to data collected by the Congressional Research Service, Defense Department contractors in Afghanistan outnumber U.S. troops by a 3-to-1 margin. Since 2007, the Defense Department spent more than $220 billion on contractors in both war zones for a variety of services and support.
And if you think these are just retired U.S. citizens looking for work, think again. Of those listed in the collected data, more than 70 percent were foreign nationals receiving money from American companies and agencies.
To make things worse, the United States is simply donating precious resources and land back to the Afghan government. During the transfer of Camp Leatherneck in October 2014, roughly $236 million worth of property was donated and about $39 million worth of equipment was dismantled.
And what does America gain from all this?
Well, it was reported last week that U.S.-trained Afghans are basically fleeing the battlefield.
“The police, as soon as they were inflicted with some casualties, gave up about 27 posts one after another without a fight, and our posts were surrounded by surprise,” said Col. Nematullah Khalil, the commander of the Afghan Army’s Third Regiment, 215 Corps. “The enemy planted a lot of mines wherever they reached, and that slows us down. The police are fighting in the front line and suffer heavy casualties more than any other forces,” he said.
And what happens when the Iraqi army makes an attempt to take Mosul in Iraq? More of the same.
"The Iraqi Army commenced an assault on ISIS strongholds around Mosul, but when ISIS fired back, the Iraqi Army ran away and the assaults ended," an Iraq-based security and defense specialist said back in April. "So now they are regrouping and rethinking their next options."
Meanwhile, ISIS is aggressively expanding into Afghanistan. According to the Defense Department's Report to Congress, they are competing with the Taliban over territory.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province has progressed from its initial exploratory phase to a point where they are openly fighting the Taliban for the establishment of a safe haven, and are becoming more operationally active. IS-KP has successfully seized pockets of terrain from the Taliban in Nangarhar Province. The group claimed an improvised explosive device (IED) attack against a UN vehicle in September 2015 and conducted its first attack against the ANDSF later that month when it attacked as many as 10 checkpoints in the same day in Achin district, Nangarhar. The group continues to recruit disaffected Taliban and formerly Taliban-aligned fighters, most notably the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which publicly declared allegiance to IS-KP in August 2015. IS-KP has not yet conducted an attack against RS forces, although the group’s recruitment of experienced fighters and commanders could increase its capability to do so over at least the next year.
In March, an F-16 Falcon has crashed just outside Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan costing Americans another $20 million.
Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, continue to ask the American people for more money to destroy ISIS and radical Islam. But what are the American people getting in return?
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