(Daily360.com) Through the United Nations (UN) and other means, the United States taxpayers have been funding the Taliban to the tune of nearly $3 billion since it took over Afghanistan. The US government has been sending taxpayer money to the UN for the purpose of Afghanistan humanitarian aid but much of the money is sent to the country’s central bank which is controlled by the Taliban. As one would expect the Taliban simply takes the bulk of the money once it reaches the bank.
This information comes after the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction issued a report detailing his investigation about where the aid money winds up. The Taliban took full control of Afghanistan in 2021 and since that time the UN has been sending aid to the country for its people. The Special Inspector found that piles of cash are taken from the central bank by the Taliban and used toward its military ends.
This report is the first of its kind since the Taliban took over but it seems the money will continue to flow. There have been no program cancellations or money drawbacks announced by the US government and none were placed in the latest omnibus budget that passed the House on March 22.
Officials at the Pentagon say they have been surprised by the speed with which the Taliban has seized control of the country and that is why there has been no intervention into the money transfers. The UN reports that nearly 24 million people in the region need aid due to the decades of war and they rely on the US to be the largest provider of funds. The Special Inspector says donors give to UN causes, unaware the funds will wind up in the hands of terrorists.
The UN ships bales of $100 bills aboard UN flights to the Afghan central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), where it is converted into local currency that is supposed to be given to aid agencies. The UN has denied any claims that it is funding the Taliban despite the destination of large portions of the funds being the terror group. The chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep. Michael McCaul, called this “unacceptable” and said the US government should try harder to stop tax money from funding the terrorist group.
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