Why Is The U.S. Not Seizing The Funds From Groups That Support The Taliban And Al Qaeda In Afghanistan And Pakistan

Exclusive: U.S. Won’t Seize Taliban Ally’s Cash -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

The White House designated a Taliban ally as a terrorist organization in 2012. Seventeen months later, though, none of the network’s assets have been frozen or blocked.

In the last 17 months since the U.S. government financially blacklisted the Haqqani Network, one of the deadliest insurgent groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, not a single dollar associated with the group has been blocked or frozen, according to U.S. officials and one of the Congressman who oversees the Treasury Department’s financial war on terrorism.

But it’s not just the Haqqanis—an ally today in the Taliban’s fight against U.S. troops and the Afghan government—who seem to have been spared from America’s economic attacks. According to a Treasury Department letter written in late November, not a single dollar been seized from the Pakistani Taliban, either, at least for 2012.

The reason why, according to a leading Congressman, is that enforcing such sanctions might upset delicate negotiations between America, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Taliban, and other insurgent groups. “The Haqqani network is associated with the Taliban. My opinion is that this is appeasing the Taliban. Because if we go after the Haqqani network’s money, then the Taliban will walk away from these talks,” Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees the fight against terrorism, told The Daily Beast.

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My Comment: Money is the "mother's milk" for terror groups .... if they have no money (or very little of it) the scope and size of their military operations becomes severely limited. The Haqqani Network, their affiliates, and other insurgent groups are sworn enemies against the U.S. and it's allies .... their money should be seized and the financial tools that they use to maintain and keep themselves viable should be eliminated .... but for reasons that have never been properly explained (and diplomacy is not one of them) .... this is not happening.