Dem Sen. Says U.S. Subsidizing Taliban, Al Qaeda

Months after a conservative online newspaper broke a story involving multi-million-dollar U.S. defense contracts with companies tied to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the mainstream media is reporting it as if it were breaking news.

Incredibly, the Pentagon acknowledges the controversial deals with dozens of companies tied to terrorists but refuses to terminate them out of fear that it would violate their “due process rights,” according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). In a July report, the SIGAR recommended the Army suspend government contracts with 43 companies and individuals flagged for supporting the Taliban, the Haqqani network and Al Qaeda.

The firms have been identified by SIGAR for “providing material support to the insurgency in Afghanistan.” The contracts are part of the U.S. government’s $89.5 billion Afghanistan reconstruction effort. Logically, the Afghanistan reconstruction watchdog recommends that the Department of Defense (DOD) immediately cut business ties to the terrorists, who have been linked to the Taliban, Al Qaeda and other like-minded, America-hating extremists.

In fact, the SIGAR has advised that these scandalous deals end in previous reports but the Army has refused to stop doing business with terrorists. “The Army Suspension and Debarment Office appears to believe that suspension or debarment of these individuals and companies would be a violation of their due process rights if based on classified information or if based on findings by the Department of Commerce,” according to the watchdog’s lead inspector, John Sopko.

This week a mainstream media outlet decided to report on it because a Democrat lawmaker expressed outrage over the deals, offering a great sound bite on a network television newscast. Better late than never; “It’s like the United States government is subsidizing the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Haqqani network, those groups that are trying to shoot and kill our soldiers,” New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, said in the interview.

In an instant the months-old story suddenly gained credibility among the mainstream media, which referred to the information listed in the SIGAR’s July report. Judicial Watch wrote about this back in July and included the SIGAR’s scathing report, which is linked above. Back then Sopko revealed he was “deeply troubled” by the government contracts with terrorists and made clear the Pentagon had previously blown off requests to terminate them.