Pentagon Requested Taxpayer Funding to Pay for Taliban Food, Transport to Peace Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration reportedly indicated this week that it wants American taxpayers to foot the bill for Taliban expenses incurred during the ongoing peace talks to end the Afghanistan war, but a Democrat-controlled House committee denied the request.

In a statement first reported by Roll Call, Kevin Spicer, a spokesman for Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN), claimed that the “the money would cover the Taliban’s costs for expenses such as transportation, lodging, food, and supplies,” adding:

The Defense Department requested [the] fiscal year 2020 funding to support certain reconciliation activities, including logistic support for members of the Taliban and, in March 2019, they sent a notification letter to the Committee on using fiscal year 2019 funds for similar activities.

Cdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told BBC:

Following the June 2018 ceasefire in Afghanistan, the Commander of U.S. Forces, Afghanistan requested the authority to use funds to facilitate meetings between the Afghan government and insurgent groups looking to implement local ceasefires in order to be poised to take advantage of further opportunities to reduce levels of violence in the country should such opportunities present themselves.

For the fiscal year 2020 (October 1, 2019, thru September 30, 2020), the Pentagon submitted a similar legislative request, the commander added.

Nevertheless, some U.S. officials argued that reimbursing the Taliban would amount to illegally providing support to a terrorist organization, prompting the House Appropriations Subcommittee on defense to deny the funding request.

Although the U.S. has not officially designated the Taliban as a foreign jihadi organization like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), at least one executive order and other government documents describe the militants as a terrorist group.

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The Taliban is known to generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually from illicit activity, primarily the cultivation and trafficking of opium and its heroin derivative that generates the majority of its annual funding and allows it to keep waging a relentless insurgency. An increase in opium cultivation in Afghanistan, home to the world’s largest provider of heroin and opium, has allowed the group to generate even more money.

Taliban jihadis also received support from Pakistan, Russia, and Iran, according to the Pentagon.

U.S. officials argue that giving American taxpayer funding to the Taliban violates laws against providing material support for the terrorist group.

On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense reportedly approved a nearly $700 billion spending bill that explicitly outlaws the reimbursement of expenses for jihadi militants.

The legislation states that none of the funds the legislation made available may be used “to pay for the expenses of any member of the Taliban to participate in any meeting that does not include the participation of members of the Government of Afghanistan or that restricts the participation of women,” BBC noted.

Rep. Visclosky included the restriction in the bill.

Despite U.S. insistence, the Taliban has refused to allow Kabul to participate in the talks, claiming that it will only do so after all foreign forces leave the country, a move that would leave Kabul vulnerable to being ousted by the terrorist group.