Taliban gets $239 million in aid after failure of State Dept. vetting

The Islamic extremist Taliban has received at least $239 million in U.S. aid aimed at counterterrorism after State Department vetting procedures fell apart, according to a government watchdog.

The government watchdog, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), issued a July 2024 report identifying at least 29 grants where the Taliban may have erroneously received counterterrorism funds.

SIGAR "investigators found that the State Department failed to comply with its own counterterrorism partner vetting requirements in Afghanistan," Judicial Watch reported.

The funds came from State Department divisions called "Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor" and "International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs."

The SIGAR report identified more than two dozen instances where these divisions failed to keep proper vetting records.

The SIGAR report includes a response to the findings from the State Department.

A June 2024 letter from the State Department claimed "the majority of the Department's Afghanistan-related awards fully complied" with vetting requirements" but acknowledged "the gaps in compliance highlighted in the report."

The letter expressed the State Department's "commit[ment] to ensuring that all program offices comply with applicable . . . vetting requirement."