Afghanistan: The cost of clearing out

Afghanistan: The cost of clearing out

By wabby on Thu, 03/07/2013 - 10:25am |

There’s a plan to have most U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, but no call yet on what to do with the 750,000 pieces of major military hardware in country – hardware worth $36 billion.

Planners have three basic options. Leave the equipment—or destroy it—in Afghanistan; move it to other U.S. military locations; or transfer it to another U.S. agency or another country. The estimated cost for the latter two: $5.7 billion.

[snip]

Transport is hard in landlocked, mountainous Afghanistan. But leaving it behind intact means the wrong hands could get hold of it. So is it best to torch $36 billion in U.S. assets?

URL:

http://www.facethefactsusa.org/facts/36-billion-military-equipment-afghanistan/