The Washington Post is reporting that the Afghan government is moving to tax U.S. aid to his country — notifying U.S. contractors that the government wants a piece of the aid given . . . to them. The Karzai government is taking this action over the objections of the Administration and conflicting U.S. law. It is also taking this action after Karzai has shutdown corruption investigations against his government. The Karzai family has been denounced as a virtual criminal enterprise with his brothers stealing anything that they can lay their hands on.
Of course, the solution for many of us is simple: end the aid as well as our presence in this country. We continue to have states selling off parks, curtailing school programs, and ending programs due to a lack of money while we burn billions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Karzai has thanked us by repeatedly stating that he would prefer to be with the Taliban and polls show that the U.S. is deeply hated by citizens in both countries despite our loss of thousands of lives.
The Iraqi government stated that it intends to send overdue tax bills to U.S. contractors. Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal said that the announcement shows that the Karzai government is “serious against tax evasion.” Not corruption, mind you, but tax evasion. It seems that the key is that everyone must pay into the government so that Karzai family members and friends can then steal the money with impunity.
The unraveling scene in Iraq is another example of a political failure of leadership in this country. Neither the President nor members of Congress are willing to expose themselves politically by demanding a withdrawal of U.S. troops. Instead, we continue to sacrifice the lives of our military and spend hundreds of billions of dollars. Now that contractors are going to be taxed, they are likely to internalize those costs and then pass them on to the taxpayer in future aid contracts.
It is a good thing the Vice President Joe Biden did not stop over to continue his “celebration” over the status in Iraq this month. The large-party gratuity fees for the party would have been a killer.
Jonathan Turley
There has been the presumption of Sovereign Immunity….hence no Country would tax the wages of foreign nationals….excreting war and safety for that country….presently it stands at $75k per year for a single individual and $125k for a couple…enough incentive to stay and rack in the greens…and NOT PAY TAXES like the rest of us….then it seems rather redundant to ask those that earn a salary to contribute towards the cost….no wonder so many are republican….
From article: “is reporting that the Afghan government is moving to tax U.S. aid to his country — notifying U.S. contractors that the government wants a piece of the aid given . . . to them.”
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With all due respect, no. No, it isn’t aid. Aid is pallets of food and medical supplies sent to famine starved peoples. Aid is textbooks and small scale water purification units and grain seeds for the next planting cycle.
The government can call it whatever they want and hide it in whatever line or program item in any one of dozens of black budgets they choose but it certainly isn’t aid. It’s war funding. We weren’t asked to send 10’s of thousands of troops and merc’s to some shithole of a country that would kill any woman that posts to this blog for the sin of having an opinion. We weren’t invited to send death via public and private forces constituting an occupation in Afghanistan or Iraq. Calling it aid is false.
Whatever infrastructure is being built, roads, water, electricity, outposts, you name it, is not for the Afghans benefit but meant to advance our war effort and lessen the negative impact of our aggression and occupation. It’s only aid from the US to the US by indirect means and in support of the US war effort. For many in the media and politics to characterize it as aid is a lie.
I researched overseas employment at one time and unless the law has changed you have to pay taxes to one and/or both countries if the country you are going to work in has an income tax. There may have been some offsets but taxes were due your host country. Hiding behind a false exemption for “aid” to shield private contractors from income tax is aiding tax fraud.
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from article: “and polls show that the U.S. is deeply hated by citizens in both countries despite our loss of thousands of lives.”
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Invasions without cause and wars of occupation tend to do that. How many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed and displaced due to Bush’s war for vanity’s sake? How many Afghan civilian non-combatants have been killed? I’m sure that if Afghans or Iraqis were poled as to the loss of thousands of lives on their soil their response would probably be “It’s not enough”.
Words matter, “aid” is not the right word.
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Neither is “liberation”
OT but similar:
Some fool of a talking head, Hannity (while complaining about Kuwait’s oil pricing) actually had the nerve, just a few days ago, of complaining that Iraq had failed to pay us for “their liberation”. “Why didn’t they pay for their own liberation?” “…we have every right to go in there and, frankly, take all their oil and make them pay for their liberation,”
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/sean-hannity-wants-iraq-kuwait-to-pay-for-their-liberation-in-oil/
Former Federal LEO, excellent posting. I know exactly what you’re saying. It’s an extreme commitment to make but you’re not the first. I have often thought about this sermon from Carlin (and actually have been implementing a modification of it for about 30 years) and why I am still resisting its wisdom I just don’t know:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIraCchPDhk&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]
Eisenhower was a real patriot.
eniobob,
I liked the link. It is kind of spooky to listen to it or read the transcript to see how true the prediction was.
50th Anniversary of Eisenhower’s ‘Military-Industry Complex’ Speech; Still Shocking on Many Levels
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-hanft/50th-anniversary-of-eisen_b_810068.html
Wow!
Short honeymoon for our fearless leaders, wouldn’t you say?
Does anybody recall this quote following the Afghan elections less than two years ago?
“The White House on Monday insisted that Hamid Karzai is the “legitimate” leader of the Afghanistan government, dismissing suggestions that the terms of his default victory leave him tarnished in the eyes of the Afghan people and an unsuitable partner for the United States.”
Yep, he’s our suitable partner.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/02/congratulates-karzai-winning-second-term/
More importantly, does the White House remember their own words?
I’m with you FF LEO – Even Kenny Rogers “knew when to hold ’em, knew when to fold ’em.”
How many more trillions of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars do we allow the Pentagon to spend in this truly inane fox hunt?
Blouise,
I am not sure that Jimmy Carter’s figure is high enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is closer to 1/4. However, with that claim in mind, we may be getting to the point in this country, that people no longer realize we are at war because it has become so commonplace that President Carter’s prediction and my guess may be too high.
Mike Spindell,
I might suggest:
5. 10% of the voting public will always vote for the incumbent President if there is a war going on. (source … Jimmy Carter)
Regardless of all the cogent logic, legal and social evidence, and commonsense posited by renowned constitutional law and legal scholars—best represented by Professor Jonathan Turley, Glen Greenwald et al.—there is simply nothing legally tangible with which they or we can wield to stop the madness of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and the rapidly declining Rule of Law.
I have done all that I can by voting almost exclusively for the other party thinking that, surely, they could/would change the drowning tsunami of insanity that threatens our Republic; however, the Democrats were/are wearing the same corrupt, warmongering stripes as displayed by my Republican Party.
Founded upon this realization, the best I can muster nowadays is a big ol’ knot in my stomach and a deep sense of forlorn—which I have heretofore ignored and disregarded as raw emotion that precludes clear, logical thinking. Nevertheless, perhaps my only option now is to appreciate fully my abject ineptness to help achieve that elusive ideal known as “Change.”
Therefore, I resign; simply to retreat from unwinnable domestic and foreign battles while living my remaining years enjoying all the natural beauty that surrounds me every day, to the fullest extent possible, while the beauty lasts, and while I am still able.
“Then we can deal with the Marxist pig totalitarians infesting DC like the bed bugs.”
Tootie,
you’re right we’re getting screwed. where you’re wrong is that you have no idea of who, or what is really screwing us.
Gyges, wel said.
Mike S., I think your list pretty well sums it up!
The adventure in Afghanistan is on the surface pointless. Adding to that is the fact that the area is unconquerable, given terrain, populace and history. Why then are we there and continue to remain there is the question? I personally can think of four reasons.
1. There is some unstated natural resource, or territorial location that is valuable to the Corporatocracy that rules us.
2. Given the unemployment rate we need to have places to keep troops occupied because a shrinking of the wars accompanied by the shrinkage of the armed forces would increase unemployment drastically.
3. The military/industrial complex is making too much money to give it up.
4. All or a combination of the above.
Any others that I’m overlooking?
I can think of nothing better to divert the attention of the terrorists AWAY from the United States than by quickly leaving the Middle East.
They will flock back home to do what they have done for 1400 years: fight amongst themselves.
Then we can deal with the Marxist pig totalitarians infesting DC like the bed bugs.
Nullification is the answer. And pesticides.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/caruba/caruba24.1.html
First you tell me that it’s a bad idea to try and occupy Afghanistan. In Bush’s and Obama’s defense, it’s not like we had 3 or 4 fallen empires that we could have learned that lesson from.
Now you tell me that it’s a bad idea to set up puppet regimes. Well that’s also an understandable mistake, I mean it’s not like that particular form of American Foreign policy has ever backfired.
eniobob,
Is that Hookah in Washington or Kabul?
That hookah clouds ones thoughts.
Not one dime more! Not one dime!
Taxation without Representation … didn’t we fight 1 war over that issue?
This Afghan adventure just keeps getting more bizarre. I don’t think you could write this stuff and get away with calling it fiction, if it just didn’t continue to happen. If we are not going to pull the plug on our continued presence in Afghanistan, then at least pull the plug on Karzai. I am not suggesting that we send the CIA in to take out Karzai. I am suggesting that we need to give him a financial offer that he can’t refuse. Send his backside packing with a some of the missing Iraq billions and start fresh. No matter what we pay him, it will probably samve millions of dollars and maybe some lives. The real question is who replaces him and how does that improve matters? The difficulty in answering that question should lead logical people to the decision of ending our mission in Afghanistan.