First appearance on FOXSecretary of State Antony Blinken has faced calls to freeze aid to Afghanistan after it emerged that it may be being directed to the Taliban.
A recent report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the government agency that monitors U.S. aid to Afghanistan, concluded that two of five bureaus within the Department of State (DOS) failed to demonstrate compliance with counterterrorism screening.
“Overall, the Department of State failed to demonstrate compliance with partner review requirements for grants spent in Afghanistan totaling at least $293 million,” the report said.
Senator Mike Braun called for a freeze on aid to Afghanistan after it emerged the Taliban may be receiving the funds. (Getty Images)
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Indiana) in a letter to Secretary of State Blinken called the reported oversight “deeply disturbing” and urged him to halt aid to Afghanistan until the issue is resolved.
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“Furthermore, U.S. national security interests in the region are severely undermined when humanitarian and development funds are used to support groups that perpetuate violence and instability,” he said.
“It is urgent that the State Department take immediate and comprehensive steps to correct these issues to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Brown wrote.
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On November 8, 2021, the Taliban held a military parade in Kandahar, Afghanistan, using equipment seized from U.S. forces. (Photo by Murteza Kaliki/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Further away, SIGAR: $10.9 million $10 million in U.S. taxpayer money was paid to the Taliban-ruled regime by 38 of the U.S.’s 65 implementing partners. But the report said that amount “likely represents only a small fraction of the total U.S. aid funding provided to the Taliban in taxes, fees, duties, and utility charges because UN agencies receiving U.S. funds did not collect data or provide relevant information on payments to grant recipients.”
In his letter, Brown asked Secretary Blinken what actions are being taken against “those responsible for failing to comply with vetting requirements or document retention” and asked for an explanation of what improvements would be made to “documentation and record-keeping practices to avoid errors.”
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In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken (pictured right), Senator Mike Braun (R-Indiana) called the oversight “deeply disturbing” and called for a halt to aid to Afghanistan until the issue is resolved. (Photo by Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
The United States has been Afghanistan’s largest international donor since August 2021, when the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban took power following a disastrous withdrawal of U.S. troops under President Biden.
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Since its withdrawal, the United States has provided more than $2.8 billion in both humanitarian and development assistance to the country, according to SIGAR.
DOS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the time of publication.
