As the withdrawal of US military forces from Afghanistan nears (apparent) completion, images of Bagram Airfield littered with deserted fleets of American-made vehicles — ripe for the taking of whoever ends up with control of that base — have come to exemplify the enormous waste our 20-year intervention is leaving behind. After all, it was US taxpayers, in one way or another, who subsidized the purchase and transport of those vehicles into a remote territory on the other side of the world. So in turn, taxpayers are also underwriting the acquisition of a nice new truck for whichever locals are lucky enough to get first dibs.