US troops rest in a poppy field of dreams in Afghanistan.
I received the following email from the Acting Director of SIGAR(Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction) regarding corruption and fraud within the reconstruction effort in that country.
The information received was particularly disturbing in its implications.
It read as follows.
“Dear Mr. Tilford,
SIGAR released the October quarterly report to Congress that focuses on the threat that opium production poses to Afghanistan’s reconstruction.
The report notes:
–SIGAR is deeply troubled by ISAF’s decision to classify the executive summary of the report that assesses the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) which were unclassified prior to this quarter. ISAF’s classification of the report summary deprives the American people of an essential tool to measure the success or failure of the single most costly feature of the Afghanistan reconstruction effort. (page 94)
–The U.S. Army’s refusal to suspend or debar supporters of the insurgency from receiving government contracts is not only legally wrong, but contrary to sound policy and national-security goals. (page iii)
–Approximately $104.1 billion has been appropriated for Afghanistan reconstruction, with about $14.5 billion still remaining to be spent. (page 66)
–Afghanistan’s opium economy directly provides up to 411,000 full-time-equivalent jobs—more than the entire ANSF. (page 3)
–DOD reported an overall funding reduction of $225.58 million for the DOD Counternarcotics fund due in part to the threat of sanctions against parts suppliers for the Russian Mi-17 helicopters used by the Afghan Air Force Special Mission Wing as well as reductions in the overall scope of Afghanistan counternarcotics operational support from prior years. (page 72)
–Irrigation projects in Afghanistan may have facilitated increased opium-poppy cultivation after periods of significant reductions. Irrigation improvements funded by the Good Performer’s Initiative in Bamikhel in the Pachir wa Agam District of Nangarhar were definitely used to cultivate opium poppy in both 2013 and 2014, as shown in the image on page 13.
Report: http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2014-10-30qr.pdf
Report Page: http://www.sigar.mil/quarterlyreports/index.aspx?SSR=6
Best,
Alex
Alex Bronstein-Moffly
Acting Director of Public Affairs
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
Note: There is incontrovertible evidence that the Taliban use drug trafficking proceeds to fund insurgent activities. The resurgence of Afghan opium cultivation over the last two years has not only funded more insurgent attacks against coalition troops but has increased the flow of heroin to Europe, Russia and the Near East, which “undermines those societies and the consolidation of democracy and security in Afghanistan.
The worst part I guess is knowing that we are paying for it as US taxpayers…