55 billion dollars......spent where? China resume rare earth exports

Since I have far greater access to international news here than anything we are fed in the US...my thoughts about the US role in Afghanistan and Iraq has changed greatly in the nearly two years that I've been here...I won't speak on how I feel directly here but absorb this fact between 2007-2009 the US spend 18 billion dollars in Afghanistan...and a total (though spending figures are inaccurate) of 55 billion since 2002.....this is not even for the war...this is for construction of infrastructure including roads, etc...oh,yeah, China has agreed to continue the level of export for rare earth mineral...geez...this will keep the newest cell phones and laptops in our hands...thank goodness they came to their senses...