US to spend $511 million to expand Kabul embassy

[defendandprotect]

Source: AP

US to spend $511 million to expand Kabul embassy





http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101103/ap_on_re_as/as_afghan_us_embassy_1

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101103/ap_on_re_as/as_afghan_us_embassy_1

---

And, we can't afford MEDICARE FOR ALL -- what BS!!

[flvegan]

1. But it's Afghanistan!

Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.

[sasha031]

2. it's really pisses me off!

:mad:

[rooboy]

3. Hey, I just figured out a way to cut $511 million from the budget... n/t

[earthside]

4. So it's true ...

... the government isn't listening to the people.

I mean really, what further proof do you need?

It is decisions like this that could mean 2012 will be an even worse disaster for Democrats.

[defendandprotect]

5. People's government hasn't existed since '63 ...

unfortunately, this government is listening ... to wealthy elites/corporates ---



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4599390&mesg_id=4599759

[IDemo]

6. US to spend $511 million to expand Kabul embassy

Source: Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan —

The U.S. government will spend $511 million to expand its embassy in Kabul, the U.S. ambassador said Wednesday, describing the work as a demonstration of America's long-term commitment to Afghanistan.

"We make this commitment by commemorating the recent award of a $511 million contract to expand the U.S. Embassy here in Kabul," Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said during a ceremony at the construction site that marked the formal announcement of the contract.

"We're going to get a day when that embassy's up and there's not going to be these barriers out there, there's no barbed wire, there's not going to be all kinds of obstacles out there," Eikenberry said.

Currently the road to the embassy, located in downtown Kabul, is blocked by large concrete barriers and the building is surrounded by armed security guards.

Read more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013334412_apasafghanusembassy.html

[Hell Hath No Fury]

7. All I have to say is -

:banghead:

[EFerrari]

32. Never let it be said that Obama didn't defend the empire. n/t

[saigon68]

8. Fuck this shit

Let the costs to Seniors drug plans and food stamps begin </sarcasm>

[Moostache]

9. This is precisely why the "austerity" hawks should be drawn and quartered.

I do not want to see one single dime cut from ANY government program until ALL wastes of money like this are eliminated from our governmental spending. I want the fucking tea-baggers to answer for this as well...make them answer the question: "WHY do you seem only worried about spending when it is non-military spending? Why do deficits matter but blowing money for palaces in hellholes like Kabul do not?"

[defendandprotect]

42. Do we have a LIST somewhere for the "auserity" hawks .... let's put this on it!!

[sadbear]

10. I'd like to get a teabagger's opinion on this

If they're serious about reducing spending (a big IF, I know), they should be as anti-war as we are. (I think we're all smart enough to know which spending the teabaggers want to reduce, aren't we?)

[katnapped]

14. Yes yes I wanna know too

"You people ok with this?"

[pauldp]

11. Helloo...Teabaggers...???

Can you say bloated, corrupt, socialist program?
Demonstrating our commitment to keeping Afghans pissed at us.

[Jefferson23]

12. Brilliant!

:sarcasm:

[YankeeLeft7x]

13. Bad Idea

How about expanding the USA?

Who do these elected officials work for?

Not the American people, obviously.

[LarryNM]

15. Let Them Get Their Funding From Faith Based Organizations

Or hold bake sales. That or let them have a role in rebuilding our nation's infrastructure.

[keepCAblue]

26. Excellent suggestion. Tax the US churches to pay for this obscenity. n/t

[bongbong]

16. The graveyard of empires

The graveyard of empires is in the process of taking another scalp. We live in wondrous times.

[Newsjock]

17. With that kind of money ...

... Meg Whitman could try to buy three more states.

[tomm2thumbs]

18. double it by the time they are done - that is par for the course

heck, triple it if you want to be realistic

[ProudDad]

19. Look no further for another major reason why the Dems got their asses kicked yesterday (n/t)

[Riley133]

23. To be fair, Obama said operations in Afghanistan needed to be expanded.

Verbally and in written sources, Obama said operations in Afghanistan needed to be expanded and did not rule out possibility of going into Pakistan. He said it prior to his election so on this one, he gets a pass. Do I agree? Nope, but he does deserve credit for being honest on this one.

[keepCAblue]

27. Next, Pakistan. After that, Yemen. Yup, colonization through warfare and bloodshed.

...sounds like a great Democratic platform to me. In the meantime, the economy here at home in the U.S. is sinking faster than the Titanic.

[CTPatriot]

29. He gets a pass for honesty, but...

...he doesn't get a pass for failing to respond appropriately to changing conditions on the ground. It is now more obvious than ever that the occupation of Afghanistan is nothing but a drain on resources needed badly here at home, that it is a quagmire, and that we are throwing away billions of dollars a month to do what? Create more enemies and "terrorists"?

So ya, he's doing what he said he would do in this case -- just like the last president.

[ProudDad]

35. I know. That's why I didn't vote for his ass...

I do not support conquerors...

So I get a pass too!

[Crowman1979]

20. War is the Teabaggers Crack and Oil is their Heroin.

They're all just basically neocons in disguise.

[ProudDad]

36. As are the Democrats, apparently, (n/t)

[The Northerner]

21. It's not as if money matters to the gov't anyway

[Kate Sorensen]

22. US Iraq Embasy cost $700M

The 104-acre compound, bigger than the Vatican and about the size of 80 football fields, boasts 21 buildings, a commissary, cinema, retail and shopping areas, restaurants, schools, a fire station, power and water treatment plants, as well as telecommunications and wastewater treatment facilities.

The compound is six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York, and two-thirds the size of the National Mall in Washington.

It has space for 1,000 employees with six apartment blocks and is 10 times larger than any other U.S. embassy.

Shortened link: http://fwd4.me/lon

Recent report on lost resources at Embasy Iraq: http://fwd4.me/loq

[Fearless]

24. I guess that this isn't discretionary spending either...

:banghead:

[2Design]

25. great place to cut costs - stop war spending and this empire building

[LuckyLib]

28. We are in Iraq and Afghanistan for the long run. Construction there alone

indicates we expect to be shoveling money into those corrupt caverns for decades to come.

:banghead:

[enuegii]

30. 500+ million dollars...

"We're going to get a day when that embassy's up and there's not going to be these barriers out there, there's no barbed wire, there's not going to be all kinds of obstacles out there," Eikenberry said.

Well, he's right about that--the Taliban won't need barriers and barbed wire when they finally run us out of there and move right in.
Or if we come to our senses and leave of our own accord, and then they move right in.

I'm sure they'll appreciate it: both the Taliban and the folks that got paid half a billion dollars to build it.

[markmyword]

31. Hold Your Horses

Just wait a minute, you mean to say the American government,
that's you and me, are going to SPEND $511 MILLION  of OUR
hard earned money on an embassy in Kabul.

Who made that decision???

We NEED that money, every last dime of it, right here in the
U. S. A. Anyone who has traveled on our roads in any major
city,or seen our infrastructure, knows that everything is
falling apart. Our schools have NO money and are laying off
teachers, increasing class sizes, and cutting programs. What
about health care, unemployment, Social Security, Medicare,
they all need a little funding?

As far as I'm concerned, NO MORE MONEY should leave these
shores, until the AMERICAN PEOPLE have been taken care  of.
Let someone else take care of the world and it's problems,
until we can afford to do it and right now we can't.

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.

 

[defendandprotect]

40. Imagine how many jobs that might create .... !!! However....

we still need to overturn the trade agreements which exist

simply for the benefit of wealthy/corporates to "harvest slave labor" -- !!

[Rage for Order]

33. Why are we spending another dime on that shit hole country?

This is insane

[defendandprotect]

41. .... because US imperialism wants control over oil region/ME .....

...because elites/Pentagon need perpetual wars to fill their pockets and

as a curtain behind which to commit crime and oppress the American public!

Ah ... National Security ... smell of napalm in the morning!!

[sarcasmo]

34. How much of our own infrastructure would this $511 million fix?

[ProudDad]

37. Not much...

We need to cut into the $1.2 TRILLION (minimum!) that the Empire pisses away on the legions and its wars...

[sarcasmo]

38. The problem is we piss it away in foreign lands that hate us. Where is the logic in blowing shit up

and rebuilding it? In no bid contracts, that is where the logic lies.

[ProudDad]

43. It pumps up the GDP...

There's nothing better than war and cancer for the GDP...

They both produce a hell of a bump...

War: build shit to blow up then build more shit, blow it up, then build more shit...

Cancer: high priced "medical care" instead of Preventive, diet, etc. - not much GDP bump with preventive care...

And since the GDP is the ONLY measure of "progress" that's relevant to the Empire, that's what they pay attention to...

[U4ikLefty]

39. I imagine a well-armed "embassy".

;)

[Historic NY]

44. Forget about it we need the money here. Were not going to be there in 2 yrs,

[democrank]

45. FOUR MORE WARS! FOUR MORE WARS! USA! USA!

[Solly Mack]

46. How much of that will be ah....misappropriated? (and then they'll need more)

[No Elephants]

47. Meanwhile, back in the U.S.A., Jon Stewart is asking for donations to restore the National Mall.

And FDR's ghost is going :banghead:

[conspirator]

48. Another COLONIAL FORTRESS. Gotta protect the empire n/t

[avaistheone1]

49. What a disgrace.

I guess the vested interests in this war are making too much money to stop. Oil and drugs $$$$$ rule once again. The people lose.