In a story that previews Bob Woodward’s new book, “Bush at War,” The Washington Post reports that the purchase of warlords’ loyalty played a large role in toppling the Taliban from power. “The CIA spent $70 million in direct cash outlays on the ground in Afghanistan, a figure that also included money for setting up field hospitals. ‘That’s one bargain,’ the president said in an interview with Woodward last August. The money was handed out by about a half-dozen CIA teams spread through the country, starting with a 10-man paramilitary team code-named ‘Jawbreaker’ that landed in Afghanistan on Sept. 27, 2001. The team leader carried $3 million in a single attache case.”
It sounds familiar.
