\n reconstruction, told Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in a letter<\/a> that the structure is \u201cthe best
\n constructed building I have seen in my travels to
\n Afghanistan.\u201d<\/i>\n<\/p>\n
\n ![\"RC-SW](\"http:\/\/rt.com\/files\/news\/1f\/b7\/00\/00\/rw-1.jpg\")
<\/i>\n<\/p>\n
\n But the construction of this building represents a common problem
\n that can be seen throughout Afghanistan: the US has wasted
\n millions of dollars on buildings that stand empty or incomplete
\n as the military scales back its troops.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cUnfortunately, it is unused, unoccupied, and presumably will
\n never be used for its intended purpose,\u201d<\/i> Sopko wrote.
\n \u201cThis is an example of what is wrong with military
\n construction in general \u2013 once a project is started, it is very
\n difficult to stop.\u201d<\/i>\n<\/p>\n
\n The US must now decide whether to hand over the facility to the
\n Afghan army or demolish it. Since the huge windowless building is
\n equipped for US appliances and requires expensive fuel purchases
\n for its generators, it may be difficult for Afghans to sustain.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe building will probably be demolished,\u201d<\/i> the two-star
\n Army general told the Post.\n<\/p>\n
\n But the military headquarters, which have the capacity to hold
\n 1,500 personnel, is just one of many expensive structures that
\n will never serve their intended purpose. The US military recently
\n spent $45 million on a facility to repair armored vehicles in
\n Kandahar province, which is now being used as a location to sort
\n through equipment being shipped out of the country, the Post
\n reports. The State Department last year also abandoned plans to
\n turn a large building into a consulate, after spending more than
\n $80 million on a 10-year lease.\n<\/p>\n
\n The wasteful spending on extravagant structures in Afghanistan \n After US troops withdrew from Iraq, they left behind a plethora \n In Afghanistan, the US is now facing many of the same problems. \n \u201cBoth alternatives for how to resolve this issue are troubling
\n closely mirrors US spending in Iraq. The US spent $60 billion to
\n rebuild Iraq, but a final report<\/a> from Special Inspector General for Iraq
\n Reconstruction Stuart Bowen concluded that more than $9 billion
\n was wasted.\n<\/p>\n
\n of abandoned projects, including a 3,600-bed prison that cost $40
\n million, a $165 million children\u2019s hospital that remains unused,
\n and a $108 million wastewater treatment center that remains
\n unfinished. Building materials worth $1.2 million were abandoned
\n when fears of violence prompted the US to abandon construction of
\n the prison.\n<\/p>\n
\n And with a $34 million base standing unused and equipped for
\n modern warfare, the US must decide whether to destroy or hand
\n over the structure. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u2014 destroying a never-occupied and never-used building or turning
\n over what may be a \u201cwhite elephant\u201d to the Afghan government that
\n it may not have the capacity to sustain,\u201d<\/i> Sopko writes,
\n relaying his concerns to the defense secretary that he is
\n “deeply troubled that the military may have spent taxpayer
\n funds on a construction project that should have been
\n stopped.”<\/i>\n<\/p>\n