(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A new government report has explained why President Joe Biden made the controversial decision to send nearly $2 million in taxpayer dollars to the Taliban, even after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan led to the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemen.
The report, issued by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, exposed that the Biden administration partners “made payments to the Taliban,” totaling $1.8 million between September 2021 and December 2024.
The Biden-led State Department defended the payment to the terrorist organization, claiming that it was “authorized” by so-called general licenses from the Treasury Department.
The State Department also claimed that the payments were aligned with other regulations, the report found, according to the Daily Caller.
The Biden administration’s justification was particularly shocking given their claims that the government did “not authorize financial transfers to the Taliban.”
According to the DoD Office of Inspector General, the payments were made for a variety of expenses, including taxes on local staff salary, the registration of vehicles, work permit and visa fees, local airline costs and taxes withheld from other bills.
The State Department claimed that its partners’ payments to the Taliban could not be exempted because the Taliban said so.
The findings sparked condemnation from Rep. Michael Cloud, who said, “If a business funneled money to the Taliban, its executives would be in prison for 20+ years. When the federal government does it? No arrests. No consequences. No accountability. Somehow, it’s legal if the Government does it.”
If a business funneled money to the Taliban, its executives would be in prison for 20+ years.
When the federal government does it? No arrests. No consequences. No accountability.
Somehow, it’s legal if the Government does it. pic.twitter.com/reh9JZ6Ogo
— Congressman Michael Cloud (@RepCloudTX) February 28, 2025
The $1.8 million is just a fraction of the total funds the Biden administration has sent to Afghanistan since he took office on Jan. 20.
According to the Daily Caller, the Biden administration told U.S. troops to leave behind $7 billion worth of military equipment when they withdrew in 2021.
The Taliban also presumably gained access to approximately $57.6 million in funds that the U.S. government had provided to the now defunct Afghan government.
In addition, the World Bank reported that $2.8 billion in U.S. dollars has been sent to Afghanistan since August 2021.
