The Afghan countryside is littered with abandoned and decaying power plants, prisons, schools, factories, office buildings and military bases, according to a watchdog agency, the legacy of the U.S.’s 20-year effort to fund the establishment of a modern Afghan state that could provide security and basic services for its citizens — The Wall Street Journal
A reported $145 billion went to infrastructure projects and construction equipment alone. In March, an American taxpayer watchdog group called SIGAR released a report which estimated $6.6 billion worth of buildings and vehicles went misused or were abandoned since the 20-year war began. Architecture in the country is likely to fall into dire straights as the Taliban have gained total control of every province.
The embassy complex alone cost the U.S. over $8 billion. President Bush called the main building a “big, solid, permanent structure, which should represent the commitment of the United States of America to your liberty” at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in March of 2006.
The Wall Street Journal has more on what’s been left to rot here.
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