A Question of Priority?

I read an article recently in Time magazine about Afghanistan and the ongoing issues affecting the country. Many subjects were looked at - security, education, public services, transport and industrial development, farming and agriculture etc etc, the list went on.
One of the key points from this report was that with more money invested into the country to develop all these different areas then the overall (security) situation would improve dramatically as the infrastructure improved and that it was not just a question of sending more troops into the country.
More investment and funding would provide the groundwork for the country to start to improve and get back on its feet, but that also, it was difficult to get the money to make these much needed changes.

I then read in another piece about how, as part of the preparation work for the Beijing Olympics, China has spent some $42 Billion Dollars (US) on infrastructure improvements, such as roads and subways.

Anyone else see the irony?