Report claims some of humanitarian aid sent to Afghanistan went to terrorists

A report shows that some of the money that the United States has sent to Afghanistan for humanitarian aid has gone to terrorists. 

This claim, according to Fox News, comes from U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL).

He is the chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, and he made the claim during the opening remarks of a hearing that was held last week by the committee.

The specific claim is that about $10 million of taxpayer dollars has gone to the Taliban.

The money at issue

According to Fox, the money that Mast is referring to is the $2.8 billion that the United States sent to Afghanistan for humanitarian aid. This came after President Joe Biden's botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

Fox reports:

Mast pointed to a reported $2.8 billion in humanitarian funding being directed to Afghanistan following the disastrous 2021 withdrawal that claimed the lives of more than a dozen American service members and led to the Taliban retaking control of the Kabul government.

Mast, in general, was speaking about State Department expenditures that he has found to be problematic. And, this was one example that he provided.

The congressman said:

Another example is that the Biden administration has sent more than $2.8 billion to Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August of 2021. The report shows tens of millions of dollars of that money going directly into the hands of the Taliban

Mast further said that the examples he provided, including this one, are just the "tip of the iceberg."

Background

Last year, reports emerged indicating that U.S. taxpayer dollars could be going to the Taliban.

NBC News, in April 2023, reported:

The head of the U.S. government watchdog for the war in Afghanistan said Wednesday that the U.S. may have provided billions in taxpayer dollars to the Taliban and Afghan terror groups since the withdrawal of American troops, but even he doesn’t know the full extent of the problem.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul provided an update on the situation just recently, citing the findings of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

"Last year, I requested that SIGAR report on the extent to which U.S. taxpayer dollars are benefitting the Taliban. Unsurprisingly, SIGAR has found that at least $10.9 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars have been provided to the Taliban," McCaul said.

He added, "It is unacceptable for any U.S. funding to benefit the Taliban. The Biden administration must take immediate action to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from going to the Taliban."