If you fund, they will build it

Not exactly news that government agencies know that there is no future in making prudent decisions, but every little anecdote helps;

The United States wasted $36 million in taxpayer funds building a military base in Afghanistan that was "unwanted, unneeded, and unused", a U.S. government watchdog said on Wednesday.

Some generals thought they had enough capacity already, but;

Their objections were overruled by another general who believed it would be imprudent not to spend funds that had already been allocated by the U.S. Congress, Sopko said in a report. [our bold]

The new base (Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province) was intended to support a military surge of 30,000 extra troops sent to Afghanistan in 2010....

Timing?

Yet construction did not begin until May 2011 and the building was not completed until April 2013, seven months after the extra troops were withdrawn from the country....

But the money got spent, which is the important thing, since once spent the precedent is set...and more will follow.