War: the truth about what Afghanistan is costing US

After revisiting the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech against the War in Vietnam, "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam",  I decided to fast forward to the present situations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria, wondering how these wars would be viewed by MLK. The information I gleaned from my initial research makes me want to spend time as an anti-war advocate!

I decided to start with the War in Afghanistan, on the economic and human toll this war is having on the US, and more specifically on people of color. In my opinion, this is not a "holy" war that should be continually waged, and it appears that the present situation was exacerbated, unfortunately, by my much beloved 1st Black President, Barack Hussein Obama, and Congress which approves military expenditures in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is an ancient land that we have been warring against for decades, not just since September 11, 2001. It is far from being a popular tourist destination we may never visit and is populated by people we may never personally interact with unless we are in the military or a government contractor. I personally have never met a person from Afghanistan, except for two recovering Afghan soldiers who had amputated legs that I met in a Huntsville, Ala. hospital in the early 1990s.

Afghanistan lies in a strategic geographic location and is the home of poppies, a plant that opium comes from. According to Wikipedia, Afghanistan is "the world's leading illicit opium producer since 1992...and harvest produces more than 90% of illicit heroin globally, and more than 95% of the European supply. More land is used for opium in Afghanistan than is used for coca cultivation in Latin America." 

It would appear that countries who are involved in the Afghanistan War may be profiting from the WAR ON DRUGS,  may be the world's biggest DRUG DEALERS, or the biggest combatants of the opium drug trade. Go figure! We also must consider how drug companies are involved in the War.

What is the true cost of the Afghanistan War, and what constructive benefit are average Americans receiving from these engagements? How are these wars affecting people of color in the United States?

According to a BBC war timeline (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12024253), US-backed mujahideen groups were fighting in Afghanistan since 1978. The Soviet Union gave up and pulled its troops ten years later. Ten years after that, the US launched missile strikes at suspected bases in retaliation for bombing US embassies in Africa. 

Now it's 2018, and between $714B and $841B US dollars have been spent fighting there (https://taskandpurpose.com/war-afghanistan-us-spending-cost/ and https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/21/news/economy/war-costs-afghanistan/index.html).

According to Brown University's Neta Crawford, co- director for the Cost of Wars Project, the War in Afghanistan has "incomprehensible" costs in trillions of dollars allowing for "future cost obligations." This does not include money to finance the war or help veterans as result of injuries, death, and psychological disabilities of survivors and their families.

I emailed Dr. Crawford, asking her to respond to the following: 

1. As it relates to the Afghanistan War, what constructive benefit are average Americans receiving from this military engagement?
2. How is this War affecting people of color in the United States? Do any people of color have contracts related to the war? How could we be better using monies spent on war to help underprivileged communities in the US?
3. Should African Americans be focusing on Afghan War, why or why not?

Here is her response:

"My sense is that resources could be well spent at home, and I think all people should be concerned about the way war robs us of resources and sometimes disproportionately affects people of color. One way war hurts is the loss of jobs that could be created if the money had been spent other ways."

To learn more, go to:

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2016/Costs%20of%20War%20through%202016%20FINAL%20final%20v2.pdf