Re:Soldiers watch the US withdrawal from Bagram through the ...
by areyousure on Saturday July 03, 2021 @03:21PM
(#27724049)
> every drop of which had be trucked from Karachi
There were multiple supply routes used in Afghanistan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_logistics_in_the_Afghan_W...
In particular, the Pakistan routes were not used at all for many months after the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NATO_attack_in_Pakistan and "by February 2012 85% of coalition fuel supplies were being shipped through the northern routes".
But. And I'm not directing this at you, but it jumped out at me ..
> On the bigger FOBs, the jet engines ran constantly in idle
.. using a considerable quantity of fuel, every drop of which had be trucked from Karachi through unfriendly territory. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11463490 Of course it was comfortable, the kind of comfort only the incredible profligacy of the war machine can offer.
Total cost: https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-afghanistan-middle-e... $800bn over 20 years. Let's say $40bn a year.
Peak troop numbers: ~100k. So at least $400,000 per troop per year.
No wonder it was so great, I'd be disappointed if you didn't enjoy it if it cost that much. It's all the Americans grinding away in the home system that made it possible for you. $120/year/American.
Did anyone ever say "we can't do that, we don't have the budget"?