There’s an “increased risk” that at least $293 million in aid disbursed by the State Department in Afghanistan between March and November 2022 could fall into the Taliban’s hands, a new Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report has found.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), sub-agencies of the State Department, provided incomplete documentation to SIGAR and therefore could not establish they had complied with counter-terrorism vetting requirements, according to the report. Members of the Taliban have been attempting to capture U.S. funds meant to provide aid to the people of Afghanistan since the terrorist organization took over the country in August 2021.
“The risk of Taliban-founded NGOs, or other organizations that could funnel money to terrorist groups, benefiting from U.S. taxpayer funds underscores the importance of State complying with its own vetting and document retention requirements.” the report reads. “As the U.S. government continues to provide assistance to the people of Afghanistan, it is vital that State complies with its partner vetting requirements intended to prevent the department from awarding U.S. taxpayer funds to individuals and entities with ties to terrorism.”
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) officials told SIGAR that their agency had heard reports of over 1,000 new nongovernmental organizations registering with the Taliban and that many of those groups are affiliated with terrorists. The State Department requires officials to perform risk assessments prior to awarding funds to Afghan entities, leveraging an array of public and non-public information to gauge how likely it is that potential partners have ties to terrorist organizations. […]
– Read More: dailycallernewsfoundation.org
