We bought an Army?

The Afghan National Army and the Police make up about 350 thousand men for a country the size of Texas, costing the Coalition (namely us) about $5B a year to run.  Good or bad, its what it is.  Think Tanks say it should stay this size, if not larger to tackle the Taliban and secure the borders.  Its a moot point, as we are primarily footing the bill for paying and equipping these men (and a few women).  Most countries spend 3% or less of their GDP on their military, so Afghanistan’s $20B GDP seems a bit small, so something has to give.  Its quite a paradox that we need a large Afghan force to quell the insurgency for economic development to occur, yet its difficult to invest because the security bill is pretty high.  That’s where the Coalition comes in.  We have to keep this Army running long enough to bring the insurgents to the table.