Obama helps Taliban with 360 million

[bwalker42]

Taliban, criminals get $360 million from US taxes - politics - msnbc.com

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by bwalker42

Taliban, criminals get $360 million from US taxes - politics - msnbc.com

Brenda did you you actually read the article? Or was your intent to intentionally mislead?

Only a small percentage of the $360 million has been garnered by the Taliban and insurgent groups, said a senior U.S. military official in Kabul.
The bulk of the money was lost to profiteering, bribery and extortion by criminals and power brokers, said the official, who declined to provide a specific breakdown. The official requested anonymity to discuss the task force's ongoing investigation into the movement of U.S. contract money in Afghanistan. The documents obtained by The Associated Press were prepared earlier this year and provide an overview of the task force's work.

[SlowButSteady]

First: $360 million out of $31 billion? That's about 1%.

Second: It's not like our government DIRECTLY gave ANY money to insurgents. As jackdale's quote points out, what funds did manage to get in to Taliban hands (a small fraction of the $310 million) did so via second, third, forth, et cetera, parties. If a crook steals your tax return, is that an example of the government funding crooks?

[kd3pc]

Originally Posted by SlowButSteady

If a crook steals your tax return, is that an example of the government funding crooks?

no, but they damn well ought to chase him down, prosecute and demand restitution, at a minimum....instead they look the other way, wink wink, that is the way the system works, etc....and move on to the next one.

[SlowButSteady]

Originally Posted by kd3pc

no, but they damn well ought to chase him down, prosecute and demand restitution, at a minimum....instead they look the other way, wink wink, that is the way the system works, etc....and move on to the next one.

I do believe that the US military is pretty aggressively using a few tools unavailable to your local SWAT team ( F-18s, Apache helicopters, Predator drones, Hellfire missiles, chainguns, grenades, .50 cal sniper rifles, et cetera). Sounds like they aren't playing "wink, wink" games to me. But, if you don't believe me, just ask Osama bin Lauden. Oh, that's right, OBL was al Qaeda, rather than Taliban. Well, ask some of the guys on this list then:

Ilyas Kashmiri
The leader of al Qaeda's Lashkar al Zil and the operational commander of the Harkat ul Jihad-i-Islami. He also was a member of al Qaeda's external operatiosn council.
Date reported killed: June 3, 2010.


Killed in 2010:

Ibn Amin
A senior al Qaeda and Taliban military commander who led forces in Swat in Pakistan.
Date reported killed: Dec. 17, 2010.

Sheikh Fateh al Masri
Al Qaeda's leader in Afghanistan and Pakistan (or the Khorasan).
Date reported killed: Sept. 25, 2010.

Saifullah Haqqani
A Haqqani Network military commander in Afghanistan and a cousin of Siraj Haqqani. Date reported killed: Sept. 14, 2010.

Qureshi
An Islamic Jihad Group commander who trained Germans and other foreigners in North Waziristan and then sent them back to their home countries.
Date reported killed: Sept. 8, 2010.

Inayatullah
A Taliban military commander based in North Waziristan.
Date reported killed: Sept. 3, 2010.

Abu Ahmed
An al Qaeda military commander who conducted operations in Afghanistan.
Date killed: June 19, 2010.

Sheikh Ihsanullah
An al Qaeda military commander who conducted operations in Afghanistan.
Date killed: June 10, 2010.

Ibrahim
The commander of the Fursan-i-Mohammed Group, an al Qaeda group based in North Waziristan.
Date killed: June 10, 2010.

Osama bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Damjan al Dawsari
A senior operative and key link with the Taliban in South Waziristan, Pakistan. He also facilitated operations in Afghanistan.
Date killed: May 28, 2010.

Mustafa Abu Yazid
Yazid, who is also known and Sheikh Saeed al Masri, is al Qaeda's leader in Afghanistan and top financial official.
Date killed: May 21, 2010.

Sadam Hussein Al Hussami
A senior operative in al Qaeda's external operations network who was involved in the suicide attack that killed seven CIA officials in Khost. Hussami is also known as Ghazwan al Yemeni.
Date killed: March 8, 2010.

Qari Mohammad Zafar
A leader of the al Qaeda and Taliban-linked Fedayeen-i-Islam wanted by the US for attacking the US Consulate in karachi in 2006
Date killed: February 24, 2010.

Mohammed Haqqani
A mid-level Haqqani Network military commander and brother of the group's top military commander Siraj Haqqani.
Date killed: February 18, 2010.

Sheikh Mansoor
An al Qaeda Shadow Army commander who was based in North Waziristan and operated in eastern Afghanistan.
Date killed: February 17, 2010.

Abdul Haq al Turkistani
A member of al Qaeda's Shura Majlis and the leader of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party.
Date killed: February 14, 2010.

Abdul Basit Usman
The US has a $1 million bounty on Abdul Basit Usman, an Abu Sayyaf master bomb maker, for conducting attacks that murdered civilians. Usman's death is unconfirmed, however.
Date thought killed: January 14, 2010.

Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim An Abu Nidal Organization operative who participated in killing 22 hostages during the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am flight 73.
Date killed: January 9, 2010.

Mansur al Shami
An al Qaeda ideologue and aide to Mustafa Abu Yazid.
Date killed: Exact date is not known, he was last seen on As Sahab on January 4, 2010.

Sadiq Noor
A senior Taliban leader in North Waziristan.
Date killed: January 3, 2010

Killed in 2009:

Haji Omar Khan
A senior Taliban leader in North Waziristan.
Date killed: December 31, 2010

Abdullah Said al Libi
The top commander of the Lashkar al Zil, al Qaeda's Shadow Army.
Date thought killed: December 17, 2009 (exact date is not known)

Zuhaib al Zahib
A commander in the Lashkar al Zil, al Qaeda's Shadow Army.
Date killed: December 17, 2009

Saleh al Somali
The leader of al Qaeda's external network.
Date killed: December 8, 2009

Abu Musa al Masri
A senior al Qaeda explosive expert and trainer.
Date killed: October 21, 2009

Najmuddin Jalolov
The leader of the Islamic Jihad Group, a breakaway faction of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Najmuddin was closely allied with al Qaeda.
Date killed: September 14, 2009

Maulvi Ismail Khan
A military commander in the Haqqani Network.
Date killed: September 8, 2009

Mustafa al Jaziri
A senior military commander for al Qaeda who sits on al Qaeda's military shura.
Date killed: September 7, 2009

Tahir Yuldashev
The leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Date killed: August 27, 2009

Baitullah Mehsud
The overall leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.
Date killed: August 5, 2009

Kifayatullah Anikhel
A Taliban commander under Baitullah Mehsud.
Date killed: July 7, 2009

Mufti Noor Wali
A suicide bomber trainer for the Taliban and al Qaeda.
Date killed: July 3, 2009

Khwaz Ali Mehsud
A senior deputy to Baitullah Mehsud.
Date killed: June 23, 2009

Abdullah Hamas al Filistini
A senior al Qaeda trainer.
Date killed: April 1, 2009

Osama al Kini (aka Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam)
Al Qaeda's operations chief for Pakistan who was wanted for the 1998 bombings against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Date killed: January 1, 2009

Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan
A senior aide to Osama al Kini who was wanted for the 1998 bombings against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Date killed: January 1, 2009

Killed in 2008:

Abu Zubair al Masri
Served as an explosives expert for al Qaeda as well as a leader.
Date killed: November 21, 2008

Abdullah Azzam al Saudi
Served as liaison between al Qaeda and the Taliban operating in Pakistan's northwest. Azzam facilitated al Qaeda's external operations network. He also served as a recruiter and trainer for al Qaeda.
Date killed: November 19, 2008

Abu Jihad al Masri
The leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group and the chief of al Qaeda's intelligence branch, and directed al Qaeda's intelligence shura. He directed al Qaeda's external operations in Egypt.
Date killed: October 31, 2008

Khalid Habib
The commander of the Lashkar al Zil or the Shadow Army, al Qaeda's paramilitary forces in Pakistan's northwest and Afghanistan.
Date killed: October 16, 2008

Abu al Hasan al Rimi
A senior al Qaeda operative.
Date killed: October 2008 - exact date unknown

Abu Ubaidah al Tunisi
An al Qaeda military commander who fought against the Russians in Afghanistan.
Date killed: September 17, 2008

Abu Musa
An al Qaeda operative from Saudi Arabia.
Date killed: September 8, 2008

Abu Qasim
An al Qaeda operative from Egypt.
Date killed: September 8, 2008

Abu Hamza
An explosives expert from Saudi Arabia who served as al Qaeda's commander in Peshawar.
Date killed: September 8, 2008

Abu Haris
A senior al Qaeda military commander from Syria who led more than 250 Arab and Afghan fighters under the guise of the Jaish al Mahdi in Helmand province. He became al Qaeda's operations chief in the tribal areas in 2008.
Date killed: September 8, 2008

Abu Wafa al Saudi
An al Qaeda commander and logistician.
Date killed: September 4, 2008

Abdul Rehman
A local Taliban commander in the Wana region in South Waziristan.
Date killed: August 13, 2008

Abu Khabab al Masri
The chief of al Qaeda's weapons of mass destruction program and a master bomb maker.
Date killed: July 28, 2008

Abu Mohammad Ibrahim bin Abi al Faraj al Masri
A religious leader, close to Abu Khabab al Masri.
Date killed: July 28, 2008

Abdul Wahhab al Masri
A senior aide to Abu Khabab al Masri.
Date killed: July 28, 2008

Abu Islam al Masri
Aide to Abu Khabab al Masri.
Date killed: July 28, 2008

Abu Sulayman Jazairi
The chief of al Qaeda's external network. Jazairi was a senior trainer, an explosives expert, and an operational commander tasked with planning attacks on the West.
Date killed: March 16, 2008

Dr. Arshad Waheed (aka Sheikh Moaz)
A mid-level al Qaeda leader.
Date killed: May 14, 2008

Abu Laith al Libi
Senior military commander in Afghanistan and the leader of the reformed Brigade 055 in al Qaeda's paramilitary Shadow Army.
Date killed: January 29, 2008

Killed in 2007:

No senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders or operatives were reported killed during the strikes in 2007.

Killed in 2006:

Liaquat Hussain
Second-in-command of the Bajaur TNSM.
Date killed: October 30, 2006

Imam Asad
Camp commander for the Black Guard, al Qaeda's elite bodyguard for Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. Asad was a Chechen with close links to Shamil Basayev.
Date killed: March 1, 2006

Killed in 2005:

Abu Hamza Rabia
Al Qaeda's operational commander. He was involved with two assassination plots against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
Date killed: December 1, 2005

Killed in 2004:

Nek Mohammed
A senior Taliban commander in South Waziristan who had links to Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar.
Date killed: June 18, 2004

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by kd3pc

no, but they damn well ought to chase him down, prosecute and demand restitution, at a minimum....instead they look the other way, wink wink, that is the way the system works, etc....and move on to the next one.

That is an extremely ridiculous statement, unworthy of you.

[bljones]

Maybe if everyone stops taking her misleading, misguided, mistake-riddled bait, she'll just go away.

Is it a personal attack on another member to call that member a (abuse deleted) troll when they are, in fact, a (abuse deleted) troll?

Mods, I await your judgment.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by bljones

Maybe if everyone stops taking her misleading, misguided, mistake-riddled bait, she'll just go away.

We can but hope Jones, we can but hope.

Is it a personal attack on another member to call that member a (abuse deleted) troll when they are, in fact, a (abuse deleted) troll?

Mods, I await your judgment.

hmm .. now that is a hard one BJ ... I should of course bat this one off to my fellow Mods due to a certain perceived level of bias of my part ...

[poopdeckpappy]

Jones, yes it's in bad form


TDW, you should rethink your position, I don't think I've ever seen a mod dog pile on a member when they're being insulted the way you have; Is it a leftest club thing ?

[bwalker42]

Originally Posted by jackdale

Brenda did you you actually read the article? Or was your intent to intentionally mislead?

Yes, sweetie, I did...



Taliban, criminals get $360 million from US taxes
Losses underscore challenges US and international partners face in overcoming corruption in Afghanistan
Below:

By DEB RIECHMANN, RICHARD LARDNER

updated 8/17/2011 7:23:41 AM ET 2011-08-17T11:23:41

+-WASHINGTON — After examining hundreds of combat support and reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan, the U.S military estimates $360 million in U.S. tax dollars has ended up in the hands of people the American-led coalition has spent nearly a decade battling: the Taliban, criminals and power brokers with ties to both.



..The losses underscore the challenges the U.S. and its international partners face in overcoming corruption in Afghanistan.






A central part of the Obama administration's strategy has been to award U.S.-financed contracts to Afghan businesses to help improve quality of life and stoke the country's economy.



But until a special task force assembled by Gen. David Petraeus began its investigation last year, the coalition had little visibility into the connections many Afghan companies and their vast network of subcontractors had with insurgents and criminals — groups military officials call "malign actors."


In a murky process known as "reverse money laundering," payments from the U.S. pass through companies hired by the military for transportation, construction, power projects, fuel and other services to businesses and individuals with ties to the insurgency or criminal networks, according to interviews and task force documents obtained by the AP.


"Funds begin as clean monies," according to one document, then "either through direct payments or through the flow of funds in the subcontractor network, the monies become tainted."

Story: Does a return to warlord rule await post-NATO Afghanistan?
The conclusions by Task Force 2010 represent the most definitive assessment of how U.S. military spending and aid to Afghanistan has been diverted to the enemy or stolen.



"Only a small percentage of the $360 million has been garnered by the Taliban and insurgent groups, said a senior U.S. military official in Kabul."
(Fact? Evidence? or projected perspective for the sheeple?)


The bulk of the money was lost to profiteering, bribery and extortion by criminals and power brokers, said the official, who declined to provide a specific breakdown. The official requested anonymity to discuss the task force's ongoing investigation into the movement of U.S. contract money in Afghanistan. The documents obtained by The Associated Press were prepared earlier this year and provide an overview of the task force's work.


'Corrupt political elites' (OH?)


Overall, the $360 million represents a fraction of the $31 billion in active U.S. contracts that the task force reviewed.
360 million reps a fraction of the 31 billion..... yup but it's still 360 million (Ahem) And Why are we GIVING $31 billion dollars away to Afghan anyway??

But insurgents rely on crude weaponry and require little money to operate. And the illicit gains buttress what the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, referred to in a June report as a "nexus between criminal enterprises, insurgent networks and corrupt political elites" in Afghanistan.

More than half the losses flowed through a large transportation contract called Host Nation Trucking, the official said.

Eight companies served as prime contractors and hired a web of nearly three dozen subcontractors for vehicles and convoy security to ship huge amounts of food, water, fuel and ammunition to American troops stationed at bases across Afghanistan.

Verrrry Interesting...


The Defense Department announced Monday that it had selected 20 separate contractors for a new transportation contract potentially worth $983.5 million to replace Host Nation Trucking.

Officials said the new arrangement will reduce the reliance on subcontractors and diminish the risk of money being lost.

Under the new National Afghan Trucking Services contract, the military will be able to choose from a deeper pool of companies competing against one another to offer the best price to move supplies.

Oh... Really??


The new arrangement also gives the U.S. more flexibility in determining whether security is needed for supply convoys and who should provide it, according to a description of the contract.

Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads (on this page)
The Pentagon did not provide the names of the 20 companies picked due to worries that larger contractors who weren't selected might try and coerce them into a takeover, the senior defense official said.

None of the eight prime contractors affiliated with the Host Nation Trucking contract are part of the new arrangement, the official added.

.HEB International Logistics of Dubai, a Host Nation Trucking prime contractor, "made payments directly to malign actors," one of the task force documents reads.


Warlord got $1.7 million
In 2009 and 2010, an HEB subcontractor identified in the document only as "Rohullah" received $1.7 million in payments. A congressional report issued last year said Rohullah — whose name is spelled Ruhallah in that report — is a warlord who controlled the convoy security business along the highway between Kabul and Kandahar, the two largest cities in Afghanistan.

Wha.....


Half a dozen attempts to reach officials at HEB's offices in Dubai by telephone were unsuccessful due to calls being transferred and lines going dead. It is also the holy month of Ramadan when many employees work shortened days and offices close early.

The congressional report said Rohullah's hundreds of heavily armed guards operated a protection racket, charging contractors moving U.S. military supplies along the highway as much as $1,500 a vehicle.
Thaz kinda steep izn't it??

Failure to pay virtually guaranteed a convoy of being attacked by Rohullah's forces, said the report, "Warlord Inc."
Ah!

Rohullah's guards regularly fought with the Taliban, but investigators believe Rohullah moved money to the Taliban when it was in his interest to do so.
O-zy K-zy

Slideshow: Life at Kandahar Airfield (on this page)
Both Rohullah and the security company he was affiliated with, Watan Risk Management, denied ever making payments to the insurgents, according to the report.

But in December, the U.S. placed Watan in "proposed debarment status," which prevented it from signing new contracts or renewing existing contracts. Go figure

Watan challenged the decision in federal court. Two weeks ago, Watan and U.S. officials signed an agreement that states the company may not bid on any mobile security contracts for the next three years. The ban does not affect other companies controlled by Watan's owners.

The task force also said contractors engaged in profiteering by forming dummy companies. A task force document shows three tiers of subcontractors below Guzar Mirbacha Kot Transportation, an Afghan-owned trucking company known as GMT. Four of the subcontractors appear on the first and second tiers, collecting $14.2 million in payments.

Basir Mujahid, a GMT representative in Kabul, said top company officials were in Dubai and could not be reached for immediate comment.

Power broker arms Taliban Power brokers — a term widely used in Afghanistan — refer to Afghans who leverage their political and business connections to advance their own interests.

Another task force document details the case of a power broker who owned a private security company and was known to supply weapons to the Taliban. again, Hmmmmm.

The power broker, who is not named in the document, received payments from a contractor doing business with the U.S. Over more than two years, the power broker funneled $8.5 million to the owners of an unlicensed money exchange service used by insurgents, according to the document.
Say what?

Story: 'Monty Python meets Afghanistan': New political satire skewers officials
Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., former chairman of the House oversight panel that investigated the wayward payments, said that the U.S. must stop the diversion of taxpayer dollars to the enemy.

"When war becomes good business for the insurgents, it is all the more difficult to convince them to lay down their arms," Tierney said.
I wonder why?


U.S. authorities in Afghanistan are screening contractors more carefully to be sure they can handle the work and also are trustworthy, the senior military official said.

Authorities also are being more aggressive in barring companies if they violate contract terms or are found to be involved in illicit activities.

Since the task force was created last year, the number of debarred Afghan, U.S. and international companies and individuals associated with contracting in Afghanistan has more than doubled — from 31 to 78, the official said.

Petraeus, who recently relinquished command in Afghanistan to become CIA director, told his commanders in a September 2010 memo to keep close watch over contracting dollars and "know those with whom we are contracting."

Failing to do so could "unintentionally fuel corruption, finance insurgent organizations, strengthen criminal patronage networks, and undermine our efforts in Afghanistan," he wrote.

Tierney, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform national security subcommittee, said the new trucking contract announced Monday is a welcome step.

But he said he is still worried the military still lacks sufficient visibility and accountability over payments. The subcommittee has scheduled a hearing next month to examine the contract and the risks of outsourcing security in a combat zone.

OK I'm done.