Are U.S. Taxpayers Funding the Taliban?

A government watchdog released a report highlighting how roughly $3.8 billion in U.S. funds have flowed into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan through the United Nations and other organizations since December of 2021.

The report reveals that the UN has even transported U.S. cash directly into the country.

Although this money is usually transferred to UN partners operating in Afghanistan, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that these funds have both “directly and indirectly” benefited the Taliban.

According to SIGAR, the humanitarian aid facilitated by these funds indirectly supports the Taliban by stabilizing and legitimizing their rule, allowing them to prioritize their own agendas over providing essential services to the Afghan people.

SIGAR also noted that the Taliban have exploited this situation by extorting money from aid recipients under the guise of income taxation.

Back in May of this year, SIGAR reported that over $10.9 million in U.S. taxpayer money was funneled directly to the Taliban-controlled government by at least 38 organizations.

The Taliban may now have a greater means of evading international banking controls which were designed to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism according to SIGAR who emphasized that U.S. currency is hard to trace.

Representative Tim Burchett has introduced legislation aimed at preventing U.S. funds from benefiting the Taliban.

Burchett condemned the Biden administration’s handling of the situation, calling it a major failure and a failure to ensure taxpayer dollars don’t go to terrorists.

Previously, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul requested SIGAR investigate the flow of U.S. funds to Afghanistan.

While there are efforts to tighten controls, SIGAR cautions that restricting U.S. currency could have unintended consequences, potentially reversing economic and humanitarian gains in a country facing severe poverty and hunger.

Upon hearing this devastating news, several veterans have begun speaking out as their lives were on the line in defending the U.S. from this very regime.

Mark “Oz” Geist, founder of the Shadow Warriors Project, expressed his outrage saying:

“This has to stop now. We are sending billions to the Taliban while our veterans are struggling with physical and mental wounds. This is an affront to every service member who fought in the 20 years of war with Afghanistan and the Taliban, and especially to the families of the 13 soldiers killed at Abbey Gate.”

Former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, Shawn Ryan, echoed Geist’s sentiments, calling the funding morally reprehensible, particularly as the anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack approaches.

Ryan, along with Scott Mann, a former Green Beret and PTSD advocate, highlighted corroborative intelligence from resistance fighters confirming SIGAR’s findings that U.S. funds are being used to support terrorist operations.

Chad Robichaux, a Marine and founder of The Mighty Oaks Foundation, criticized the State Department for its handling of U.S. taxpayer dollars, stating:

“Once again, the U.S. State Department has failed to manage taxpayer dollars properly. This time, $293 million has ended up in the hands of the Taliban, potentially funding future attacks on America.”

Despite their activities, the Taliban has yet to be listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, though some lawmakers, including Senator Marco Rubio, have attempted to change that designation without success.

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