by RAY LEWIS
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - AUGUST 15: Men wave the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan during a celebration of the first anniversary of the Taliban's return to power on August 15, 2022 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (TND) — The U.S. Department of State could not prove it complied with counterterrorism vetting requirements on nearly $300 million in awards to Afghani programs, according to an inspector general report released last month.
Two of the department’s branches did not provide sufficient documents to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) to prove they followed vetting procedures preventing awardees with terrorist ties from receiving funding, the report found.
SIGAR determined that the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) were partly responsible for $293 million in awards that may have been given out in violation of the vetting requirements.
INL only gave the watchdog vetting documents for three of 22 funding initiatives, with the rest of the materials missing due to employee turnover and the close of one of its offices, according to the report.
DRL provided documents for three of seven of its awards, SIGAR found. The report notes that the Department of State requires all its bureaus to follow basic procedures and evaluate each program’s risk before giving out funds.
Kevin Covert, an official with the department, agreed there were discrepancies with the vetting requirements in a letter SIGAR included in its report.
“While the majority of the Department’s Afghanistan-related awards fully complied with federal and Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) partner vetting requirements, the Department acknowledges some of the gaps in compliance highlighted in the report on certain awards implemented in Afghanistan,” he wrote.
SIGAR recommended that Secretary of State Antony Blinken take “immediate action” to make sure that the bureaus follow the vetting procedures. This would allow lawmakers and watchdogs to better analyze risks posed by the department’s spending, according to the report. Covert agreed with the suggestion.
“The Department takes vetting requirements seriously and continuously works to implement internal guidance, which helps ensure compliance with all applicable vetting requirements,” he wrote.
“We remain committed to compliance with federal and FAM partner vetting and award document retention requirements to prevent the mishandling of U.S. taxpayer funds,” the official added.
SIGAR noted in its report that the risk of Taliban-created nonprofits receiving U.S. funds highlights the importance of the Department of State following its vetting requirements. As of September, many of the more than 1,000 organizations that have registered with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy have ties to the Taliban, according to the watchdog.
The Taliban has tried to acquire U.S. funds through nonprofits, the report found.