US foreign aid intended for the Afghan people might be going to the Taliban instead

A government watchdog claims that billions worth of U.S. aid, intended to assist Afghan civilians, may be benefiting the Taliban. A key reason mentioned for this possibility is poor oversight over the money’s flow. Given this apparent lack of visibility on where the money is going, those reviewing this issue are not able to conclusively say if the money is going to the Taliban, or if the money is going to the intended recipients.

From the Military Times:

“As I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban,” John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, told members of the House Oversight Committee. “Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, the Afghan people.”

The comments highlight more potentially disastrous fallout nearly two years after the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from the country. Republicans have sought to make that departure — which included the evacuations of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees but also the deaths of 13 service members in the final days of military operations there — a political liability for President Joe Biden, accusing him of abandoning allies and handing over the country to Taliban extremists.

Democratic committee members laid blame for the collapse of the democratic Afghan government on former President Donald Trump, who negotiated a withdrawal plan with Taliban leaders before Biden’s election. Both sides traded partisan barbs throughout Wednesday’s hearing.

But Sopko and other inspectors general testifying before lawmakers indicated that regardless who is blamed, problems with U.S. involvement in the region remain.

Administration officials have allotted more than $8 billion in foreign humanitarian aid to Afghan groups and charities since the August 2021 withdrawal. But Sopko said State Department officials have not been able to track large portions of those payouts, and cannot assert that the money is reaching the individuals for whom it is intended.

The Military Times has the article here.

Category: Afghanistan, Government Incompetence, Taliban