A friend of mine was stationed in Afghanistan during the US occupation. He said there was a well-understood eco system. The US would pay local businessmen, say,

A friend of mine was stationed in Afghanistan during the US occupation. He said there was a well-understood eco system. The US would pay local businessmen, say, $10k to fix a section of road. In the meantime, rebels/terrorists/freedom fighters would blow up a section of road for, say, $1k. Lather, rinse, repeat.