Did the Taliban Intercept $239 Million in U.S. Payments to Afghanistan?

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Did the Taliban Intercept $239 Million in U.S. Payments?

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — A recent report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has revealed that the U.S. State Department may have mistakenly provided at least $239 million to Taliban-affiliated organizations and Taliban-founded NGOs. This funding occurred in the wake of the controversial withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021. The report highlights a lack of proper vetting and oversight in the disbursement of U.S. funds.

Mistaken Funds: $239M to Taliban - Globe Eye News — *Mistaken Funds: $239M to Taliban. Source: Globe Eye News*

U.S. State Department’s Vetting Failures and Military Equipment Left Behind in Afghanistan

According to the report, the U.S. State Department didn’t follow its partner vetting requirements in all cases. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) could not provide the necessary documentation to prove they complied with these requirements. This oversight raises concerns about the use of U.S. taxpayer money.

Additionally, the report mentions that not all bureaus complied with document retention requirements, complicating the tracking of funds. The failure to properly vet recipients has increased the risk of funds being misused or ending up in the wrong hands.

In addition to the financial oversight, the report notes that the withdrawal left behind approximately $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment in the region. The equipment included vehicles like Humvees and Black Hawk helicopters. The chaotic evacuation also led to the tragic deaths of 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghan civilians at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The report questions why Kabul’s airport was used for the evacuation instead of the more secure Bagram Airfield.

Taliban security personnel patrol a street as Afghan Shiite Muslim mourners carry out a procession to celebrate Ashura on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram in Pol-e-Sokhta neighbourhood of Kabul on July 16, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

SIGAR Report Highlights Costs of U.S. Withdrawal

After the withdrawal, the Taliban quickly took control of Afghanistan. It also established over 1,000 non-profit organizations, which claimed to promote humanitarian efforts. However, the SIGAR report suggests these organizations were fronts to secure and re-direct additional funding. The report points out that DRL and INL’s failure to comply with partner vetting requirements allowed funds to be potentially misappropriated by unknown actors or transferred to Taliban-aligned groups.

The findings provide a detailed account of the financial and human costs associated with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Afghanistan War, the longest in U.S. history, cost taxpayers an estimated $2.261 trillion. It resulted in the deaths of 2,448 U.S. military personnel and 3,846 contractors. The conflict also claimed the lives of over 45,000 Afghan civilians.

X Users React to State Department’s $239M Transfer to Possible Taliban-Affilated Organizations

Users on X shared their opinions in the comment section about the recent report of the U.S. mistakenly transferring $239 million to Taliban-affiliated organizations or Taliban-founded NGOs. Some X users speculated that the transfer wasn’t accidental, but intentional, and was potentially linked to rising tensions with Iran following the Israeli aggression in Gaza.