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US Funds Used to Pay Afghan Warlords

   VOA News 22 June 2010
   A  U.S.  armored  personal  carrier vehicle escorts a convoy of trucks
   carrying U.S. equipments in Kabul, Afghanistan (File)

Photo: AP

   A  U.S.  armored  personal  carrier vehicle escorts a convoy of trucks
   carrying U.S. equipments in Kabul, Afghanistan (File)

   A congressional investigation says tens of millions of dollars of U.S.
   taxpayer  funds  are  indirectly being paid to Afghan warlords, public
   officials  and  even the Taliban to ensure safe passage of U.S. supply
   convoys in Afghanistan.
   A  lengthy report released late Monday says eight Afghan-based private
   contractors working with the Defense Department through a $2.1 billion
   transportation  contract are paying several thousand dollars per truck
   for guards.
   The contract covers at least 70 percent of all goods and services used
   by U.S. forces. Â
   Congressional  investigators say trucking contractors raised the issue
   with  military  officials,  but  their  concerns  were  never properly
   addressed. Â
   The  report  was  completed  by the House of Representative's national
   security subcommittee, which will hold hearings on the report Tuesday.
   The   U.S.  military  says  it  has  begun  investigating  reports  of
   corruption  in  Afghanistan, and has created a task force to determine
   the impact of its contracting processes on corruption.

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