Rushing to wind down its role in Afghanistan by end of 2014, the US military has destroyed over USD 200 million worth of vehicles and other military equipment used by it in the war-torn country, in what has been described as "largest retrograde mission in history".
The massive disposal effort, which US military officials call unprecedented, has unfolded largely out of sight amid an ongoing debate inside the Pentagon about what to do with the heaps of equipment that won't be returning home, the Washington Post reported.
Military planners have determined that they will not ship back more than USD 7 billion worth of equipment - about 20 per cent of what the US military has in Afghanistan - because it is no longer needed or would be too costly to ship back home.
"Therefore, much of it will continue to be shredded, cut and crushed to be sold for pennies per pound on the Afghan scrap market - a process that reflects a presumptive end to an era of protracted ground wars," the Post said.
TVNL Comment: There's ALWAYS money for war - especially those like the illegal and immoral Bush fiascos. But there's NEVER enough money for food stamps for hungry children in the US, or health care for Medicaid patients, or Head Start for tens of thousands of youngsters, ... on and on and on. Wake up, America!