Throwing Good Money After Bad?
Stripes today has an article indicating the US Deputy SECSTATE has announced US pledges of another nearly $100M to support “Syria’s opposition”. Presumably, that’s the “non ISIS”, moderate Syrian opposition – assuming any of those creatures still exist today. The aid will go to “support local and provincial councils, civil society activists, emergency services and other needs on the ground inside Syria.”
Well, whatever isn’t stolen or diverted theoretically will, anyway. I’m guessing a fair chunk will end up used for other purposes – and possibly even in ISIS’s coffers. But maybe I’m wrong.
The article goes on to say that Saudi Arabia “wants Assad gone”, and that the timing of his departure – along with the departure of “foreign fighters” – are major sticking points in ending the Syrian civil war. Gee, ya think? I’d have never guessed. How about we file that bit of wisdom in the “No Sh!t” category?
Of course Assad’s departure is a sticking point – he has no intention of departing, and he’s currently running part of Syria. Further, both Assad and those “foreign fighters” have their own interests in being there, and in preventing an ISIS takeover of Syria – kinda like we do, actually. So that’s obviously a “sticking point”, too. Sheesh.
This new pledge brings to $500M the amount the US will have spent supporting the Syrian opposition since 2012. Now it seems to me we could have spent all that money far more effectively, given the results we’ve gotten to date. But maybe that’s just me.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” I said that years ago, and I see no reason to change my mind now.
Sometimes the devil you know is indeed better than the one you don’t. If you don’t believe that . . . think back 3 years, then look at ISIS today.
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Foreign Policy, Government Incompetence, Military issues
What haven’t B. Hussein 0bama & Company clusterfucked to death since he took office? I only wonder how badly they’ll fuck things up.
Bodaprez and Kerry using that “Smart Power” thingy again…
“support local and provincial councils, civil society activists, emergency services and other needs on the ground inside Syria.”
So the Community Organizer in Chief just line Assad’s pockets with another 100 million.
I was witness to a project in A’stan in that we paid the locals to go out and cut terraces on the slopes of a steep valley so that they would net an increase in arable acreage. Yeah, the Chinese figured out terraces thousands of years ago, but the Afghans won’t figure it out until someone like us pays them to do it. BUT. The local Taliban guy showed up and told everyone to put their shovels down or die, until he got some of that US Dollar off the top. I do not know how that was resolved ultimately, as we left shortly thereafter. I’m confident the local Afghans figured out a way to get all the money allocated for the project, one way or another. The price we were paying had at least 6 trailing zeroes.
They’re going to train 8 guys this time?
I still don’t get the Assad-must-go business. He was elected to office, first by referendum under the old Constitution, and then re-elected as one of many candidates for the office. I understand that the Scrotum Shaver’s ego was bruised–and remains bruised–by Assad’s retention of office when the latent Arab Spring Fling Thing was to see him gone. His is a legitimate regime, is it not and, if not, those who would unseat him–the “rebels” that Scrotum Shaver supports, include ISIS bastards. So, putting aside the garbage, can someone explain why Assad is the bad guy?
I’d help you out but I am still trying to find an instance where Bernath won something in a court of law. Perhaps Unibomber will show up and write a book about it and make you feel like a stupid racist.
I don’t like Assad but there are a lot of foreign leaders I don’t like. Yes they are assholes but so long as they don’t attack the US or our allies and kill Americans I don’t want to spend money getting rid of them.
Now if they start assisting terrorists or others in undermining America or killing it’s citizens then it’s time to take them out directly instead of training unknowns and allowing weapons to fall into enemy hands.
Yeah, because the road to my house looks like they called in several B-52s – why not piss it away? Not like I didn’t see enough tax dollars thrown to the wind in Iraq and Afghanistan already…
100 Million damn and I gotta lie,cheat,steal, use mafia tactics, psychological warfare , threaten to shoot a puppy with a 50 cal. so I can get parts for unit vehicles.
This just in:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/11/02/afghanistan-43m-gas-station-colossal-waste-us-taxpayer-money/
BLUF: DOD spent 43 million USD in order to build a CNG gas station in Sheberghan, Afghanistan.
obama spends more money on supporting and arming islamic terrorists than iran is. Was that part of his negotiations with iran’s grand poobah?
Disgusting little POS.