Gasoline in Afghanistan Costs the U.S. $400 Per Gallon

Shades of those old stories of wasteful spending on nuts and bolts! A report by the Pentagon reveals that the U.S. spends $400 per gallon for gasoline in Afghanistan.

Those of us who suffered with $4 gasoline in the summer of 2008 can now realize we had nothing to complain about.

Why so much? It's not because the U.S. is being ripped off. It's because of the landlocked status of the country, which makes transporting gasoline to regions expensive.

The nearest port is in Karachi, Pakistan, where fuel for U.S. troops is shipped. Then, the fuel is transported through Pakistan and Afghanistan via truck, sometimes changing carriers. Worse, sometimes the transport includes a helicopter flight, which is obviously inefficient, because it uses up almost as much fuel as the chopper carries.

Note: this per gallon price is what the Pentagon calls the "fully burdened cost of fuel," which means it includes all expenses. Many have said that if Americans had to pay how much it really costs for gasoline, including all miscellaneous expenses, they would be shocked, and stop wasting so much of it.