A shocking report from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has revealed that the US State Department inadvertently gave at least $239 million to the Taliban since the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.
This staggering figure adds to the estimated $7 billion worth of military equipment left behind for the extremist group.
The report exposes a blatant failure by the State Department to comply with partner vetting requirements, resulting in potentially funding terrorist-affiliated individuals and entities.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) were identified as the two bureaus that failed to properly vet recipients of taxpayer money.
The SIGAR report highlights a lack of accountability, with no recommendations for disciplinary action against those responsible for the funding debacle.
Instead, the report suggests that the bureaus should simply begin to comply with vetting processes, allowing the programs to continue with no policy changes.
This scandalous revelation comes after the Biden administration’s hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to the deaths of 13 US service members, 170 Afghan civilians, and the abandonment of Afghan allies who assisted anti-Taliban efforts.
In addition to seizing billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. military assets, new report found that the organization also quickly moved to open more than 1,000 non-profit organizations.
While the non-profits advertised themselves as promoting human rights and humanitarian causes in Afghanistan, they were largely front groups that allowed the Taliban to secure massive tranches of taxpayer dollars under the supervision of State Department officials.
The Afghanistan War, America’s longest foreign war, cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2.261 trillion. Over the two-decade long conflict, 2,448 U.S. military personnel died along with 3,846 U.S. military contractors.
It is estimated that more than 45,000 Afghan civilians died over the course of the war as a result of the military conflict
The Taliban’s assumption of control has resulted in the seizure of billions of dollars’ worth of US military assets and the establishment of front groups to secure taxpayer dollars.
