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Rant

Before we withdraw, here is another prison

Posted 7 months ago|7 comments|836 views
US Troops working in Afghanistan
Written by
President Obama promised that US is going to withdraw from Afghanistan 33,000 troops and save $1 Trillion over the next decade. What he somehow forgot to say is that the total number of US troops in Afghanistan when he took office was only 32.800! Obama himself increased the number of troops to 98,000 and by December 2012, this number should be reduced to 65,000. Oh my, what a reduction.

What President obviously forgot to tell to the public is that he plans to build a new prison in Afghanistan at a cost of $100 million! On September 13, a call for propositions was posted on a Federal government site (FedBizOpps.gov) for the construction of a prison in the city of Bagran, Afghanistan. Apparently, this $100 million will go towards building a prison that will include guard towers, security surveillance, control gates and housing for around 2,000 prisoners.

If he really intends to pull out of Afghanistan, why build a prison there? Actually, why not build a new prison here? The Supreme Court ruled that the state of California had to reduce its prison population by more than 30,000, because conditions and overcrowding in jails were equivalent to cruel and unusual punishment. No, the US troops are there to stay and what president says and what president does are two different things, as usual.

According to the Human Rights First group, the United States still imprisons more than 2,800 men outside United States. Well, spending $100 million on a prison in Afghanistan will make it possible to increase this number by 2,000. Well, in accordance with the new See Something, Say Something Act, I guess that those 2,000 empty seats will be filled with American troublemakers, sorry, I meant to say potential terrorists soon...
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COMMENTS
Perfect Horizon
Perfect Horizon
Chicago, IL
7 months ago: Be mindful that the troop reduction is only of Combat Troops. Also, the increase after he took office was basically a reallocation of troops from Iraq. At the very least sending troops to Afghanistan makes more sense than staying in Iraq. I was opposed to both wars, but at least the one in Afghanistan can be somewhat rationalized whereas Iraq was just a vendetta.

As for the prison system in the United States...it is a joke, we spend far too much money on housing for people that shouldn't be in prison in the first place, but that is a different topic.
7 months ago: When you just think that 500,000 people are in jail awaiting trial just because they cannot afford bail. Housing those "innocent until proven guilty" costs $9 billion a year!
Out Of The Box
Out Of The Box
 Moderator
7 months ago: $50,000 per prisoner just in startup costs. I guess Guantanamo was just a little too close to home.

Hold on, I have to get the door, my daughter said some guys wearing Raybans got out of a black SUV and want to talk to me...brb......
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7 months ago: We straight don't exist,
No names and no fingerprints.
Saw something strange,
Watch your back.
Cause you never quite know where the M.I.B.'s is at...
Altruist
Altruist
Eugene, OR
7 months ago: Good comments. Yes we have way too many prisoners here and we can't even afford prisons for them. We need to change the entire system and go for restorative justice instead.

Sort of silly to to build new prisons in Afghanistan, they had a brand new fancy one in Kandahar. The Taliban broke 900 prisoners out in 2008, so we did a major security upgrade, did extensive training, and last year the Taliban dug a 1000 meter tunnel and broke out another 500 prisoners. They had even hired a bunch of buses to haul them away at the end of the tunnel. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/huge...

It doesn't matter how expensive or fancy the prison is if the guards can be bribed. Afghanistan is the #1 most corrupt nation on earth. Need to change that 1st or it is all money down the drain.
7 months ago: Prisons wouldn't be so crowded if we actually punished those caught in the act properly. Summery execution for murder and other serious/violent crimes, castration for rape, stoning for child molestation, amputation for theft (except food for family), hanging for car-jacking with a weapon or child involved.

We have brought crime and punishment to new lows by our efforts to ensure the perpetrators rights are not violated and it is usually at the expense of the victim's right to be avenged.

We have some very large deserts that need to be used, we could build a few super-large prisons in the middle of one and send all the lifers and repeat offenders there and open up a bunch of room for pot smokers and casual drug users that our government has wrongfully incarcerated for pursuing their right to happiness but got caught with money saving large stashes or other causes.

As for "us" building a prison in a foreign country without getting something in return.... not one of the better ideas.
4 months ago: Hey Six,

We agree on something!

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