Top U.S. official slams Afghan reconstruction efforts that now exceed costs of WWII Marshall Plan
The top U.S. watchdog in Afghanistan says the 17-year reconstruction effort in that war-torn country has wasted billions because Americans have failed to root out corruption and built infrastructure without consulting local leaders about whether they needed or could afford to operate it.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko told The Hill’s new morning show "Rising" this week that the cost of the U.S.-funded reconstruction effort now far exceeds the costs of the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.
The effort has suffered from a misguided belief that Afghans have the same needs as Americans, he argued.
“We can't rebuild it into a little America. I think that was one of the problems. We wanted to turn this into Kansas," he told co-hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton in a segment that aired Friday.
“We designed and funded a lot of programs that the Afghans did event know about it until we turned it over to them," he continued.
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http://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/393680-inspector-general-the-us-has-spent-more-money-on-afghan-reconstruction-than
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