The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) on Wednesday accused the President Joe Biden-led administration of funding the Taliban.
What Happened: The top inspector general for Afghanistan, John Sopko, accused the U.S. government of stonewalling his efforts to procure records about assistance to the Asian nation since the U.S. military evacuation, reported The New York Times.
Sopko warned that American taxpayer money was probably ending up in the hands of the Taliban. “I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban.”
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"Nor can I assure you the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients."
Sopko blamed the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s reluctance to allow oversight, which he described as an “abject refusal,” behind the Afghan failure.
“We used to brief on a regular basis,” Sopko said, adding that since President Biden took the top U.S. office, the administration has been on “radio silence.”
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Sopko lamented a lack of access to records on what he said was over $8 billion in U.S. aid that had been provided to Afghanistan since the evacuation.
Why It Matters: The U.S. withdrew its military forces from Afghanistan in 2021 after a two-decade-long war. The withdrawal of forces led to the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the country, which has raised concerns about the country’s stability and the safety of Afghan nationals.
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