The US federal government has spent $6.4T dollars on the post-9/11 wars

[maxinger]

A few years back there was a population scientist who estimated planet Earth could support "only ~ 3 Billion people in a healthy fashion.

sigh ....

I hate to say even with
- asteroids hitting the earth,
- virus alpha beta charlie ... versions
- tsumani here and there
- volcano here and there
- war here and there
-----

population keep on increasing exponentially,
and CO2 keeps on increasing.

No wonder people keep on planning to stay on Mars.

Or perhaps God waiting for someone to press the very big
red button for Nuclear bombs to destroy the whole world?

 

[Scataphagos]

population keep on increasing exponentially,

You'd think somebody should have invented rubbers by now.

 

[El OchoCinco]

and who is the ultimate beneficiary of this massive massive US spending?

It might be China.
China and the Taliban have been in contact, and they are neighbors.
And China definitely has been studying the map / earth for centuries.

Time for China to build the modern Silk Road through Afghanistan with high-speed rail line.
And also mine the minerals and rare earth from Afghanistan soil which will benefit both China and Afghanistan.

In a few more decades, who knows, Afghanistan will be one of the richest countries in the whole world.

Afghanistan is a country that links China and the West.
And Iran and China are good friends.
So soon Afghanistan and Iran will prosper.

what will happen centuries later?
no idea.

All the best to Afghanistan!
We might not be around to witness the prosperity of Afghanistan.

Problem with Afghanistan is there is no economy to speak of in which to build propserity. First of all religious rule is never beneficial to an economy, it just ends up as cultural control and stifles any economic growth. Afghanistan terrain means no significant crop exports. Their main exports are carpets and rugs... not quite the same as oil and natural gas.

Afghanistan is always going to be a backward country with no real economy which makes it susceptible to religious fanatics because you can have people living in tents and tiny cement buildings and they beleive they are happy.

 

[maxinger]

Problem with Afghanistan is there is no economy to speak of in which to build propserity. First of all religious rule is never beneficial to an economy, it just ends up as cultural control and stifles any economic growth. Afghanistan terrain means no significant crop exports. Their main exports are carpets and rugs... not quite the same as oil and natural gas.

Afghanistan is always going to be a backward country with no real economy which makes it susceptible to religious fanatics because you can have people living in tents and tiny cement buildings and they beleive they are happy.

It has tons and tons and tons of precious minerals and rare earths.

China and Afghanistan will benefit by mining those things.

 

[virtusa]

Problem with Afghanistan is there is no economy to speak of in which to build propserity. First of all religious rule is never beneficial to an economy, it just ends up as cultural control and stifles any economic growth. Afghanistan terrain means no significant crop exports. Their main exports are carpets and rugs... not quite the same as oil and natural gas.

Afghanistan is always going to be a backward country with no real economy which makes it susceptible to religious fanatics because you can have people living in tents and tiny cement buildings and they beleive they are happy.

Biggest export product in $$$ is OPIUM.

 

[El OchoCinco]

Biggest export product in $$$ is OPIUM.

View attachment 266062

Couldnt remember if it was heroin or opium

 

[maxinger]

Biggest export product in $$$ is OPIUM.

View attachment 266062

China really really hates opium because of what UK did decades ago.

But China loves rare earth.

It will be good partnership between China and Afghanistan

 

[tsznecki]

Not sure how NK entered the discussion except perhaps to build a strawman then slide right to the other slanted eye people (all the same aren't they?) to make your point about... what exactly? Chinese businesses sold us goods we ordered so we shouldn't pay their government our debt? Hard to follow, sorry.

@Overnight does have you here. The US could absolutely not pay. Don't push this line of thought further without thinking it through.

 

[tsznecki]

Yeah, it does. Remember when that poor kid came home from North Korea, who was tortured for stealing a poster of Kim Jung Un, and died shortly after coming home? Remember how our court system found North Korea guilty and ordered them to pay 10 million to the family? Remember how you heard NK paid the penalty?

No, you didn't. Because it didn't happen.

International finance my ass. China has such a huge surplus against us, they can fucking bite it. They make so much money off of our consumers, they can chalk up their US debt purchases as a bad bet, and write it off.

What...You are a fan of China? You want to give them free money?

I'll give you a point for realizing if you owe the guy 100 bucks it's your problem but if you owe the guy 100M it's his problem.

But on the underlined and bolded above, I would wager if you asked a random mainlander who should be giving orders in China, they would prefer the orders come from Beijing and not Washington.

 

[VicBee]

@Overnight does have you here. The US could absolutely not pay. Don't push this line of thought further without thinking it through.

Lol, I take it you aren't familiar with Russia's repudiation of its debt? When the communists took over Russia, they told the Brits and French (among many others) to go f*** themselves about repayment of Russia's multi million dollars debt, pretty much like @Overnight suggests America to do regarding its debt to China.
The reaction from the global financial community was swift and Russia/Soviet Union was basically unable to borrow unless it also made payments to its debt, which was finally paid off in the 1980s if I remember correctly.
The very foundation of international trade is countries meeting their financial obligations. There's a reason NK is outside the global system and I can assure you that one of the conditions for that country to one day rejoin will be payment of that court fine. The US and China will renegotiate payment terms, but the debt will be paid, this, next and future generations.
America may have the world's greatest military machine, but it can't afford to operate it!