One Soldier or 20 Schools?

[kpete]

One Soldier or 20 Schools
By Jon Taplin - July 29, 2010, 1:58PM

Nick Kristof on the true legacy of the Afghanistan War.

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One Soldier or 20 Schools


A recent report from the Congressional Research Service finds that the war on terror, including Afghanistan and Iraq, has been, by far, the costliest war in American history aside from World War II. It adjusted costs of all previous wars for inflation.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22926.pdf

Those historical comparisons should be a wake-up call to President Obama, underscoring how our military strategy is not only a mess -- as the recent leaked documents from Afghanistan suggested -- but also more broadly reflects a gross misallocation of resources. One legacy of the 9/11 attacks was a distortion of American policy: By the standards of history and cost-effectiveness, we are hugely overinvested in military tools and underinvested in education and diplomacy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/opinion/29kristof.html?_r=1

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Kristof goes on to point out "For the cost of just one soldier in Afghanistan for one year, we could start about 20 schools there." And as Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, has shown, those schools have a far more beneficial effect that the combat troops.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1606862170?ie=UTF8&tag=jotasbl-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1606862170

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/29/one_soldier_or_20_schools/

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Excellent column. Saw it in the Times oped page today....

Thanks for posting it.

and BTW...How many schools, clinics, small businesses, could be funded HERE in the US by the cost of 1 soldier in the Middle East???

[SoCalDem]

2. One small nit to pick.. What good are 20 schools if those students end up with NO job prospects

at the end of their studies?:(

Military "adventures" & occupation at least provides "work" for the people who enter the military.:(

[w4rma]

6. Teaching is a job. School admi nistration is a job. (nt)

[LWolf]

3. Three Cups of Tea is a great book,

and Mortenson makes a great point. Education is more beneficial than war.

[midnight]

4. The importance of this information should be a talking pt.

to those asking those "anti war" how can we leave Afghanistan.

[Mimosa]

5. Great topic! n/t