From October 2001 to 2015, 1,592 private contractors (approximately 32 percent of whom were Americans) working on Department of Defense contracts were also killed in Afghanistan. In 2016, more than two times as many private contractors were killed in Afghanistan than U.S. military (56 U.S. military and 101 contractors were killed).
Senator McCaskill asked Nicholson tough questions on the continuing graft and corruption within the Afghan government and with local and international contractors. Nicholson said that after 15 years, he believes the U.S. is finally able to identify "ghost" soldiers on the military payroll and stop payments to the military leader who had submitted the names. Additionally, Nicholson added that according to the latest U.S. Department of State Inspector General report on graft and corruption in the contracting field said that $200 million in overpayments to contractors for a $1 billion contract for gasoline supplies had resulted in the conviction of one Afghan general and four contactors banned from bidding on contracts. Payments to "ghost soldiers" and overpayments for gasoline have been the greatest source of corruption recently in Afghanistan.
Another Senator whose state is ravaged by drug overdoses asked, "With so many deaths in the US from drug overdoses opiates coming from Afghanistan, why hasn't US/NATO eliminated the opium poppy fields in Afghanistan?" Nicholson replied: " I don't know, and it's not our military mandate. Some other agency will have to do that."
Nicholson said that efforts for reconciliation with Taliban and other groups have had limited success. On September 29, 2016, four decade fighter against the Soviet Union, other militia forces during the civil war, the Taliban and U.S./NATO, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-e Islami signed a peace accord with the Afghan government allowing the return of 20,000 militia and their families to Afghanistan.
Nicholson said that some Afghan fighters continue to change alliances based on which faction offers the most money and security.
In an open letter to President Trump to end the Afghanistan War, many organizations and individuals urge the new U.S. president to end the longest war in the history of the country:
"Ordering young American men and women into a kill-or-die mission that was accomplished 15 years ago is a lot to ask. Expecting them to believe in that mission is too much. That fact may help explain this one: the top killer of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is suicide. The second highest killer of American military is green on blue, or the Afghan youth who the U.S. is training are turning their weapons on their trainers! You yourself recognized this, saying: "Let's get out of Afghanistan. Our troops are being killed by the Afghans we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA....
"The withdrawal of U.S. troops would also be good for the Afghan people, as the presence of foreign soldiers has been an obstacle to peace talks. The Afghans themselves have to determine their future, and will only be able to do so once there is an end to foreign intervention.
"We urge you to turn the page on this catastrophic military intervention. Bring all U.S. troops home from Afghanistan. Cease U.S. airstrikes and instead, for a fraction of the cost, help the Afghans with food, shelter, and agricultural equipment."
Fifteen years of the same questions and the same answers about the Afghanistan war. It's time to end the war.
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