Report: US Gave Afghanistan $11 Billion in Aid Since Military Withdrawal
According to a newly released quarterly report from John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the U.S. has given Afghanistan $11 billion in financial aid over the past two years following the disastrous military withdrawal which took the lives of 13 American service personnel.
The report details how the U.S. and the United Nations (U.N.) have kept the Afghan economy afloat via “cash shipments” that “arrive in Kabul every 10-14 days.” Sopko noted that the U.S. is the “largest donor to the Afghan people” adding, “more than $2.52 billion in U.S. appropriations” have funded “humanitarian and development aid,” while “$3.5 billion transferred to the Afghan Fund that is intended to recapitalize the Afghan central bank and for related purposes.”
The report also details the State Department’s “priorities” in Afghanistan, including “ensuring the Taliban uphold their counterterrorism commitments,” “supporting the formation of an inclusive government,” “encouraging the Taliban to respect human rights in Afghanistan, including those of religious and ethnic minorities, women and girls, civil society leaders,” and “addressing the humanitarian and economic crises,” in the country.
According to Breitbart, “Sopko quoted U.N. assurances that the money is ‘placed in designated U.N. accounts in a private bank,’ rather than being ‘deposited in the central bank or provided to the Taliban,'” though U.S. aid has reportedly been appropriated to “recapitalize the Afghan central bank.” The outlet added that the SIGAR report did not comment on the ongoing national debate regarding the “fungibility of foreign aid money” which emerged after the U.S. “paid a $6 billion ransom to Iran for five hostages,” just before Iranian-backed terror organization Hamas attack Israel.
SIGAR also reported that the Afghan economy “survives” on foreign aid, and that the Taliban has found ways to benefit from the funds sent to the nation. The report stated that the Taliban has routinely interfered with U.N. and humanitarian organization operations by “limiting beneficiary access to lifesaving assistance.” Additionally, the group has been accused of acts of “violence against humanitarian personnel, assets, and facilities,” as well as “siphoning cash from U.N. shipments, or collecting royalties, or charging fees on cash shipments.”
Humanitarian organizations “documented 127 access incidents that challenged their ability to provide aid in August 2023, including the arrest of 26 aid workers,” the SIGAR report stated. “This represents a 73% increase in detentions compared to the same period in 2022.”
According to Breitbart, the Taliban seemingly have no interest in the western humanitarian crusade, and are instead seeking to “develop economic relations with China,” a government that similarly has little regard for human rights.
