U.S. Withholds $160 Million In Aid To The Afghan Government Citing Its Unwillingness To Fight Corruption

US has spent more than $800bn in Afghanistan, the biggest chunk on security, including the cost of US forces in the country [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]

The Hill: US withholds $160M in Afghan aid citing corruption

The State Department is withholding $160 million from Afghanistan, citing corruption and lack of transparency in Kabul over how the funds are used.

Citing “Afghan Government corruption and financial mismanagement,” the State Department said in a statement on Wednesday that it would return $100 million to the Treasury that was slated for a “large energy infrastructure project.”

It will also withhold $60 million in planned assistance over Kabul’s “failure to meet benchmarks for transparency and accountability” and cease funding the Afghan government’s Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, which develops and oversees anti-corruption efforts.

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WNU Editor: This call for accountability and transparency should have been done years ago.

More News On The U.S. Withholding $160 Million In Aid To The Afghan Government

U.S. to withdraw and withhold funds from Afghanistan, blames corruption -- Reuters
US accuses Afghan govt of not fighting corruption, cuts aid -- AFP
U.S. To Return And Withhold Some $160 Million In Aid To Afghanistan -- RFE
'Incapable of being a partner': US cuts $160m aid to Afghanistan -- Al Jazeera
Give or take allies: US pulls $160mn pledged to Afghanistan, citing widespread corruption -- RT

Where Did All The Money Disappear In Afghanistan?

Matthew Gault, War Is Boring: How the Pentagon Lost Track of $45 Billion

It’s almost impossible to audit what taxpayers have spent to rebuild Afghanistan

Since 2002, Congress has set aside $104 billion specifically to rebuild Afghanistan. Of that, $66 billion went to the Pentagon.

Recently, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction asked the military to account for all that spending. It couldn’t. According to a new report from SIGAR, the Pentagon only knows how it spent a third of its reconstruction budget.

It didn’t break any rules when it did this, and has since fixed the oversight that led to the underreporting, but it’s cold comfort for taxpayers who will probably never know how the U.S. military spent that money in Afghanistan.

Most likely … not all of it well. The Pentagon has a history of wasting billions in the country on bad projects, corrupt business partners and disreputable construction companies.

Update: The Pentagon Can't Account for $45 Billion It Spent in Afghanistan -- Gizmodo

WNU Editor: The latest report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is here. The Nation has an interesting post on how some of the money has been spent in Afghanistan .... the one that caught my eye is IBM receiving funds to develop Afghanistan's mineral wealth (I guess they provided the computers/software) .... Blackwater: The Top Pentagon Contractor for Afghanistan Training (The Nation).

The Pentagon Has Now Classified 'Top Secret' Afghanistan's Reconstruction Data And Aid To The Afghan Military

The Pentagon is working on force structure plans for continuing to advice and assist Afghan forces well past the 2014 drawdown date previously set between NATO and the Kabul government. US Army. (US Army)

ABC News: US Military Classifies Information About Afghanistan's Troops

WNU Editor: You have to wonder why .... after  all of these years .... they have decided to change their policy.

More News On The Pentagon Classifying 'Top Secret' Afghanistan's Reconstruction Data

U.S. Suddenly Goes Quiet on Effort to Bolster Afghan Forces -- NYT
U.S. military cited for increasing classification of information on Afghan forces -- Washington Post
Top military brass classifies amount of U.S. tax dollars spent on Afghan security -- Washington Times
Top commander moves to classify data used to track Afghan spending -- Washington Times
Key data on Afghan reconstruction funding classified -- CNN
US classifies details of financial aid to Afghanistan -- RT
Suddenly, all Afghan reconstruction data made secret -- Investors.com
Billions in Afghanistan spending is now classified, and that is causing tensions in the Pentagon -- Daniel Rivero, Fusion
Why is more data on Afghanistan war being classified, former US commanders ask -- Anna Mulrine, CSM
Transparency goes on holiday in Afghanistan -- Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post
What the Pentagon is Hiding from Its Auditors -- Brianna Ehley, The Fiscal Times
We No Longer Know What is Happening With the War in Afghanistan -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat

A Look At How Western Aid In Afghanistan Has Been Wasted

Here’s How The Military Wasted Your Money In Afghanistan -- Matthew Gault, War Is Boring

Unfinished projects, unnecessary equipment, rampant corruption.

American taxpayers have spent more than $100 billion on thousands of reconstruction projects in Afghanistan—everything from new prisons, bases and barracks to weapons and airplanes for Afghan security forces.

The idea was that the U.S. would leave Afghanistan in a better state than it found it. The reality is that military and civilian officials wasted billions of dollars in reconstruction funds on incomplete, botched and unnecessary projects.

The Pentagon blew $7.6 billion fighting a war on opium, but today Afghanistan’s poppy crop is bigger than ever. The U.S. Air Force bought half a billion dollars worth of transport planes—then scrapped them for six cents a pound.

The Pentagon spent five years and $20 million renovating a dilapidated Soviet-era prison. The project still isn’t finished and the contractors now face corruption charges.

And the list of wasteful projects goes on.

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My Comment: I have always argued that unless the culture changes .... even if you pump in $1 trillion dollars .... it would still get wasted and/or stolen.

Afghan Government Is Nearly Broke. Appeals For A U.S. Bailout

Afghan Official Says The Government Has Nearly Run Out Of Money, Needs U.S. Bailout -- Washington Post

KABUL — Afghanistan’s central government is nearly broke and needs a $537 million bailout from the United States and other international donors within “five or six days” to continue paying its bills, a senior Afghan finance official said Tuesday.

Crippled by a growing budget shortfall, the Afghan government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars of easily accessible reserve funds this year, said Alhaj M. Aqa, the director general of the treasury at the Finance Ministry.

The government was barely able to cover its September payroll for more than 500,000 national and provincial employees, he added. And with its October payroll deadlines approaching, Aqa said the country’s financial challenges are now “critical.”

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Update: Afghanistan in urgent need of $537m as government is nearly broke -- Khaama Press

My Comment: After receiving $100 billion U.S. in aid over the past decade .... they are now broke and are asking/begging for more money.

The average salary in Afghanistan is $500 US a year. 500,000 government workers means a budget of $250,000,000 U.S. a year. So where did the $100 billion go?

I cannot even make up such a story.

Afghanistan Has Become The Most Expensive U.S. Reconstruction Project For Any One Country In History

REUTERS/Wathiq Khuzaie/Pool

US Reconstruction Of Afghanistan Most Expensive In US History -- Voice of America

WASHINGTON — Washington's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said the U.S. has provided more than $104 billion to rebuild Afghanistan -- more money than the United States has spent on reconstruction for any one country in history.

But John Sopko said despite the massive investment, corruption and the narcotics trade are flourishing, and Afghanistan is unable to pay for and maintain projects the U.S. has started.

"The bottom line," Sopko said Friday in remarks at Georgetown University, "it appears we've created a government that the Afghans simply cannot afford."

The US and international donors fund more than 60 percent of Afghanistan's national budget.

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My Comment: Has this aid been wasted? Ask me that question in 5 years.

Britian's Aid Program In Afghanistan Has Been A Disaster

Whittled down: 40 per cent of aid to Afghanistan is said to be syphoned off by foreign contractors

Wasted! £1.6bn Of Aid To Afghanistan: Report Finds Opium Production Trebled In A Decade -- Daily Mail

* Study says £20m 'rural development programme' produced little change
* More than 500,000 acres of land are now devoted to opium cultivation
* Another £36m project created only two thirds of the 10,000 jobs it promised

Much of the £1.6billion sent in aid to Afghanistan by Britain since 2006 has been wasted, a major report warns today.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact says that much of the programme to cut opium production has ‘performed poorly’, with little monitoring of value for money.

The aid watchdog delivers a withering verdict on the Department for International Development’s efforts to divert economic activity away from the cultivation of opium, much of which ends up on Britain’s streets.

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My Comment: If this report is even half true .... this aid program deserves to be killed yesterday.

U.S. Aid To Afghanistan Will Continue After The Departure Of U.S. And NATO Forces

A U.S. Marine provides security during a joint patrol with Afghan local police outside Camp Dwyer in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 21, 2014. The Marines are assigned to Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Eric S. Wilterdink

U.S. Aid Plan Seeks to Shield Afghanistan From End to War Economy -- New York Times/Reuters

KABUL — The Obama administration will unveil on Monday a package of aid initiatives it hopes will help Afghanistan, still one of the world's poorest countries after a dozen years of massive international aid efforts, shield itself from the departure of foreign troops and an expected drop in assistance.

The announcement from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) of three new development initiatives worth almost $300 million is part of a U.S. effort to ensure that Afghanistan, as its 'war economy' ends, won't slide backwards into greater poverty or reverse gains made over the last 12 years in health, education and other areas.

"The question is, what can we do now to make sure Afghanistan is as healthy, sustainable and feasible as possible going forward," Larry Sampler, the agency's chief official for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in an interview.

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My Comment: $300 million in aid for a country as large as Afghanistan that is in the middle of a brutal civil war and is now facing the withdrawal of U.S./NATO security forces .... this is all fantasy.

Afghanistan Cannot Be Trusted With U.S. Aid

Afghan workers carry 50 kg bags of wheat out of a United Nations warehouse to load onto a truck in Kabul November 5, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Jerry Lampen

U.S. Aid to Afghans Flows On Despite Warnings of Misuse -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — With billions of dollars in American aid increasingly flowing straight into Afghan government coffers, the United States hired two global auditing firms three years ago to determine whether Afghanistan could be trusted to safeguard the money.

The findings were so dire that American officials fought to keep them private. But the money has continued to flow, despite warnings from the auditors that none of the 16 Afghan ministries could be counted on to keep the funds from being stolen or wasted.

The problems unearthed by the auditors are detailed in a report to be published Thursday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, an American government watchdog. The findings raise new questions about the efficacy and wisdom of giving huge amounts of aid directly to a government known for corruption.

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Update: Report: Afghanistan cannot be trusted with US aid -- RT

My Comment: When I read reports of waste like this one .... $600k in U.S. taxpayer dollars buys medieval hospital in Afghanistan .... I cannot help but feel that the U.S. taxpayer is being hosed.

The Inspector General's report can be read here.

Fighting Fraud And Waste In Afghanistan

Photo: John F. Sopko. Special Inspector General

How One Inspector General Is Fighting Fraud And Waste In Afghanistan -- D.B. Grady, The Week

John Sopko has done his job so well it's hard to believe he's been allowed to keep it

After 12 years of war, you would think the war planners and defense contractors have the situation in Afghanistan well in hand. And they do, if the goal is wasteful spending on such a colossal scale that it makes Healthcare.gov look like Amazon.com.

The magnitude of the ongoing fiscal irresponsibility in Afghanistan is almost impossible to measure, and there is little hope that either the White House or Congress will show any interest in listening to those who provide the warm bodies and sweaty dollars for the ongoing conflict. The president, who has bragged that he is "very good at killing people," certainly doesn't want to stop doing the one thing he's been good at of late. And while the Democrats continue running interference for their standard-bearer, Republicans in Congress steadfastly refuse to show spine in overseeing the president for fear that they accidentally end the war. No one wants that — things are going so well!

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My Comment: Kudos to someone in the US government who is fighting for the US taxpayer.

U.S. Relief Projects In Afghanistan Will Only Be Monitored From Washington

Construction site of the Ministry of Defense in Afghanistan. The United States is spending $92 million to build Afghanistan a new "Pentagon," a massive, five-story military headquarters with domed rooves and a high-tech basement command center that will link Afghan generals with their troops fighting Taliban across the country. NATO Training Mission Afghanistan

US Plans To Monitor Afghanistan Relief Projects Remotely -- Stars and Stripes/Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — As the U.S. military presence dwindles in Afghanistan, officials are finalizing a $200-million plan to use smartphones, GPS-enabled cameras and satellite imagery to monitor relief projects that will continue in areas deemed too remote or unsafe for Americans to visit.

The proposal underscores the rapidly diminishing American footprint in Afghanistan after nearly 12 years of war, and signals that more of the massive U.S. reconstruction effort there — long plagued by waste and weak oversight — will be monitored by Afghans, with U.S. officials forced to supervise from a distance.

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My Comment: Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world .... the idea that you can monitor a project from thousands of miles away is .... to put it bluntly .... utterly ridiculous. These projects deserve zero funding .... but with so many interests in Washington (and Kabul) dependent on making money in Afghanistan, I doubt that this spigot is going to be closed.

Why Is U.S. Aid To Afghanistan Going To Al Qaeda And The Taliban?

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Adam Cook and his military dog, Falco, take a break during a patrol in Mohammad Abad village in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, July 23, 2013. Cook, a dog handler, and Falco are assigned to the 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Geoffrey K. Scarborough

US Auditor Finds Taxpayer Money Flowing To Taliban, Al Qaeda - But Army Refuses To Act -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

Warnings from the US government's internal auditor that an ongoing $20 billion Afghanistan reconstruction program is lining the pockets of the Taliban and Al Qaeda have been ignored.

The US military has been ignoring warnings that its spending in Afghanistan is funding Al Qaeda and the Taliban. And John F. Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), appears to have had enough.

He issued a blistering cover letter with SIGAR's quarterly report to Congress today that called into question what "appears to be a growing gap between the policy objectives of Washington and the reality of achieving them in Afghanistan."

The US has $20 billion of Afghan reconstruction spending scheduled, and a further $10 billion requested for the 2014 budget. But after 11 years of war, there are "serious shortcomings in US oversight of contracts: poor planning, delayed or inadequate inspections, insufficient documentation, dubious decisions, and - perhaps most troubling - a pervasive lack of accountability," Mr. Sopko wrote. Good intentions, he added, appear to be running way ahead of commitment to execution.

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More News On U.S. Aid To Afghanistan Going To Al Qaeda And The Taliban

U.S. Army won't bar contractors linked to Afghan insurgents: watchdog -- Reuters
Army Contracts with Companies Tied to al Qaeda, Taliban Not Suspended -- Washington Free Beacon
Al-Qaeda Backers Found With U.S. Contracts in Afghanistan -- Bloomberg
Aiding the enemy? ‘US won’t stop paying Afghan contractors with militant links’ -- RT
Al-Qaeda supporters have U.S. government contracts in Afghanistan -- Examiner
Al-Qaeda Supporters Awarded US Contracts In Afghan Reconstruction -- Inquisitr

My Comment: So U.S. aid money is going to Afghan contractors who support the Taliban and Al Qaeda .... and no one is doing anything about it. Unbelievable.

Senators Threatens To Hold Back Afghan Aid Over Customs Fines On US Military Cargo Being Shipped Out

U.S. soldiers load a wounded Afghan Border policeman into a UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter on Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, July 13, 2013, after several policemen were wounded while conducting security operations near the base. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann

Senators Threaten To Hold Back Afghan Aid Over Customs Fines -- Washington Post

Two senators who wield considerable influence over U.S. foreign aid threatened Tuesday to withhold funding for Afghanistan if the government in Kabul doesn’t cease attempting to collect customs fines for U.S. military cargo being shipped out of the country as part of the troop drawdown.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of a subcommittee that oversees foreign aid programs, called the Afghan government’s request that the U.S. military pay $70 million in customs fines ludicrous “after all we’ve given them.”

“I’ve seen some stupid things from that government,” he said during a hearing convened to unveil next year’s budget for the State Department and foreign operations. “I’ve seen some things that make you wonder what universe they live in — but this went beyond the pale.”

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My Comment: I am at a complete lost for words. For the first time ever .... I am in agreement with Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.).

Why The U.S. Must Now Consider Withholding Vital Aid To Afghanistan

$50 Million In U.S. Funds Stolen From Afghan Bank Account -- Kevin Baron, Foreign Policy

Fifty million dollars in stolen U.S. funds that investigators had located in an Afghan bank account last year have suddenly gone missing while under the Afghan government's watch, according to a top federal watchdog.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko made the stunning revelation in a scathing speech accusing the Afghan government of being a "criminal patronage network" from civil servant to the highest officials. Sopko, warning of an inept oversight of American taxpayer funds, claimed on Wednesday that the millions went missing after his office served the Afghan government an order to freeze the account.

"Briefly put, we identified roughly $50 million stolen from the U.S. government which was sitting in an Afghan bank account," Sopko said, in prepared remarks of a speech delivered at the New America Foundation.

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My Comment: This is an outrageous story. Forget about withholding vital aid to Afghanistan .... just cut it .... but they won't. On a side note .... no wonder the U.S. and the West have a problem in Afghanistan .... if thieves can treat you with disrespect and go unpunished .... what message does that send to everyone else.

The Failure Of International Aid In Afghanistan

Local villagers receive humanitarian aid from the Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team in the village of Nijrab in the Kapisa Province of Afghanistan Jan. 14, 2008. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tyffani L. Davis)

With Aid To Afghanistan, Past Performance Is A Predictor Of Future Returns -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

A lot of aid to Afghanistan has been squandered. The latest project indicates that the US still doesn't seem to understand the country's basic needs.

In Afghanistan, it's not so much that the US is failing to learn from history. It's that it also seems to be failing to learn from the present.

During the past decade of war there, billions of dollars of US spending have been stolen, squandered, or have simply disappeared into well-intentioned projects that were inappropriate for Afghan needs.

So what is the US up to now? Planning more spending, even after US troops depart at the end of next year when it will have even less ability to monitor and account for spending than it does now.

This year the US is planning to spend $10 billion on Afghan "reconstruction" alone. While US plans for the country may begin to get some attention given the fight in Washington over slashing spending, raising taxes, or doing both, US plans for Afghanistan seem to be on auto-pilot. And some, frankly, seem utopian given its experiences there.

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My Comment: Over the years I have been criticized (more than once) by a few individuals who work for aid agencies and who always felt that my analysis was too critical and pessimistic on the work that they were doing. OK .... I am not on the ground in Afghanistan .... so my analysis is limited .... but I keep on reading stories like the one above, and the money keeps on flowing into that country. Do I see any light at the end of the tunnel .... no .... and as the above Christian Science Monitor analysis clearly reveals .... do not expect any changes in the future.

Squandering Aid In Afghanistan

Local villagers receive humanitarian aid from the Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team in the village of Nijrab in the Kapisa Province of Afghanistan Jan. 14, 2008. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tyffani L. Davis)

$100 Billion In Aid Squandered in Afghanistan -- David Francis, Fiscal Times

The decision by the United States Agency for International Development to scrap the completion of a dam project meant to supply electricity to Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban in Afghanistan, is the latest and perhaps largest failure of the United States to use development dollars to create stability by building Afghan infrastructure.

USAID had planned to spend $266 million to repair the Kajaki Dam, located in Helmand province, and to install turbines that would provide electricity to Kandahar City. More than 50 American soldiers were killed taking the area around the dam. USAID now plans to pass responsibility for installation of the turbines to the Afghan national power company, despite the widespread lack of confidence in Afghan government bodies.

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My Comment: I mentioned a few years back that even if $1 trillion in aid was pumped into Afghanistan .... ten years later there will be nothing to show for it. Bottom line .... as long as a culture of corruption, tribalism, and a lack of security with no rule of law is the norm in Afghanistan .... much of the aid that is brought into Afghanistan will be lost.

How Afghan Aid Money Is Being Wasted Or Stolen

'Incalculable Waste' In U.S.-Paid $100 Billion Afghan Fund -- Washington Examiner

The unprecedented $100 billion program slated to rebuild war-torn Afghanistan has been ravaged by theft, cost overruns, bribes, unused facilities and "incalculable waste," and now the federal auditor of the reconstruction effort is urging Congress to make sure taxpayers are getting their money's worth before spending more.

But, warned an urgently written quarterly report to Congress from the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, even if Congress gives the OK, auditing how Afghanistan spends the largest rebuilding fund in U.S. history will be difficult after American troops leave in October 2013.

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My Comment: I have commented before that even if a trillion dollar Afghan aid fund was set up .... within a decade the money will be gone and there will be very little if anything to show for it. The culture of corruption, tribalism, sectarianism, and a long history of conflict are the root problems for Afghanistan. And while I do expect Afghanistan to one day rise from this mess .... it will do so on it's own terms and over a long period of time .... and $100 billion government aid packages will not expedite this process.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction's website is here.

How Billions Were Lost In Afghanistan

Afghan soldiers patrol during a security operation in Farah province, Afghanistan, Jan. 19, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Chadwick de Bree

Money Pit: The Monstrous Failure Of US Aid To Afghanistan -- Joel Brinkley, World Affairs

More than half of Afghanistan’s population is under twenty-five, which shouldn’t be surprising since the average life span there is forty-nine. But the United States Agency for International Development looked at this group and decided it needed help because, it said, these young people are “disenfranchised, unskilled, uneducated, neglected—and most susceptible to joining the insurgency.” So the agency chartered a three-year, $50 million program intended to train members of this generation to become productive members of Afghan society. Two years into it, the agency’s inspector general had a look at the work thus far and found “little evidence that the project has made progress toward” its goals.

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My Comment: The road to hell is always paved with good intentions .... in Afghanistan it has been expensive in both treasure and in blood.

U.S. Ends 'Nation Building Program ' In Afganistan

U.S. Winds Down Afghanistan Aid Program -- Wall Street Journal

Military Pulls Out Development Teams That Had Been Central to War Strategy.

JALALABAD, Afghanistan—The U.S. military is ending a massive nation-building experiment in Afghanistan, shutting down teams that have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into roads, schools and administrative buildings in the country's hinterlands.

The shutdown, part of the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces over the next year, will mark the end of a hearts-and-minds campaign that has been central to the military's strategy.

As part of an effort to improve the reach and reputation of Afghanistan's central government, the U.S. and its allies set up over two dozen Provincial Reconstruction Teams around the country to dispense development aid and advise local officials. At least five of these have closed in recent months, and most of the remainder will shut down over the next year.

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My Comment: Billions spent .... and very little to show for after 11 years of war .... I call this an admission of failure.

Afghanistan's Highway To Nowhere'

Afghanistan's Multimillion 'Highway To Nowhere' -- The Independent

New road is a white elephant, Foreign Office insider says

A flagship multimillion-pound highway linking Afghanistan's major cities is of no use to the majority of the population and at risk of crumbling during the winter, a secret report presented to British ministers has warned.

The 2,700km "Highway 1", largely bankrolled by American and Saudi millions, was seen as a symbol of Afghanistan's emergence as a modern democratic nation after decades of oppressive rule and conflict. But senior figures within the Foreign Office (FCO) have questioned the priority given to the project – and the standard of the finished road.

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My Comment: Another depressing report on aid projects in Afghanistan.