A government watchdog spoke with Congress on Wednesday where he revealed that the Taliban might be stealing cash from the billions of dollars from American taxpayers that were meant to help provide for the needs of the people of Afghanistan. And this, ladies and gentlemen, would be the fault of President Joe Biden and his horrific failure with the troop withdrawal several years ago. Our mistakes have consequences, a lesson the current commander-in-chief has yet to learn.
“Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko issued the warning during a hearing before the House Oversight Committee alongside other inspectors general,” the Daily Wire reported.
“Unfortunately, as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban,” Sopko went on to say in his opening remarks.
🚨 John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction: "As I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban." pic.twitter.com/D4PIlzUVZ7
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 19, 2023
“Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, which are the poor Afghan people,” he continued.
The primary focus of the hearing, as described by the Republican led panel, was the troop withdrawal that took place under Biden back in August of 2021, which led to the deaths of 13 U.S. military members and over a hundred Afghan civilians in a bombing just outside of the airport during the evacuation.
“After 20 years of war, the Taliban quickly toppled the U.S.-backed Afghan government and regained control of the country. Billions of dollars in military equipment, which the U.S. sent to Afghan security forces that were fighting the Taliban, were left behind. The Taliban recently released photos showing hundreds of U.S. military vehicles it claims to have commandeered,” the report continued.
In a piece of written testimony prepared for the hearing, Sopko stated that his team planned to release a 2023 High Risk List report Tuesday that outlines “five serious risks to the more than $8 billion the United States has provided or otherwise made available to the Afghan people since the U.S. withdrawal.”
The testimony then goes on to provide several ways the Taliban could potentially be diverting money intended for the Afghan people to its own organization, which includes imposing customs charges on shipments coming into the nation, charging taxes and fees on NGOs, and by pointing cash away from groups “the Taliban considers hostile and toward groups they favor.”
“In addition to criticizing opacity from the United Nations, Sopko accused the State Department and United States Agency for International Development of refusing to cooperate with audits and other inquiries, which he says is hampering SIGAR’s ability to oversee funds spent on Afghanistan,” the report said.
“In sum, due to the refusal of State and USAID to fully cooperate with SIGAR, I cannot report to this Committee or the American people on the extent to which our government may be funding the Taliban and other nefarious groups with U.S. taxpayer dollars,” he then wrote.
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