First, we left them billions in weapons.
Now, we’re sending them billions in aid?
According to John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction [SIGAR], the Biden Administration is currently sending aid to Afghanistan that may ultimately be getting intercepted by the Taliban, according to testimony provided to the House Oversight Committee.
“I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban,” Sopko said at the hearing. “Nor can I assure you the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients.”
Yikes.
According to a New York Times report, “[Sopko] ticked off ways in which Taliban fighters were “siphoning off” goods and funds entering Afghanistan, such as by diverting food assistance and by forcing groups to pay fees to operate in the country.”
“Mr. Sopko blamed weak oversight practices within the international organizations handling Afghan assistance, and what he called the ‘abject refusal’ of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to allow oversight.”
“We used to brief on a regular basis,” Mr. Sopko said. “[But] since this administration came in, it’s been radio silence.”
The Biden Administration has provided $8 billion in aid to Afghanistan since the botched withdrawal that killed 13 U.S. service members.
Of course, the Biden Administration is pushing back —no one likes to admit they are incompetent, after all.
“Since SIGAR’s inception, U.S.A.I.D. has consistently provided SIGAR responses to hundreds of questions, as well as thousands of pages of responsive documents, analyses, and spreadsheets describing dozens of programs that were part of the U.S. government’s reconstruction effort in Afghanistan,” said Jessica Jennings, a spokeswoman for U.S.A.I.D. “We are frequently and regularly working with SIGAR on their requests.”
But Sopko’s alarm is drawing attention from both sides of the aisle.
“Why is it that he’s being blocked from doing the thing that he was legally charged by this Congress — and previous Congresses?” said Rep Byron Donalds (R-FL).
“This issue of not enough accountability — I don’t know how any of us can defend that,” said Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD).
Maybe this one’s worth looking into. Maybe we let Mr. Sopko do his job.
