World

US Tax Dollars Misused?

by Mritunjay | October 4, 2009 at 03:41 pm

201 views | 29 Recommendations | 5 comments

The United States has long suspected that much of the billions of dollars it has sent Pakistan to battle militants has been diverted to the domestic economy and other causes, such as fighting India.
Now the scope and longevity of the misuse is becoming clear: Between 2002 and 2008, while Al-Qaida regrouped, only $500 million of the $6.6 billion in American aid actually made it to the Pakistani military, two army generals tell The Associated Press.

Concerns on the use of the funds have been raised by different groups and individuals from time to time but till now no concrete step has been taken to stop the misuse. Even as the US economy is itself under pressure especially with the unemployment rate peaking at 9.5% in September 2009 Congress has already cleared a bill to triple the funding to Pakistan.

US Unemployment Data (January 1990 - September 2009)

"We don't have a mechanism for tracking the money after we have given it to them," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Wright said in a telephone interview. The extent of problem becomes more visible when the issue of how Al-Qaida regrouped is added to the scene. Generals and ministers of the Pakistan explain how diversion and siphoning of funds affect the army which was actually fighting from it's own resources in spite dedicated US funds:

Generals and ministers say the diversion of the money hurt the military in very real ways:

Helicopters critical to the battle in rugged border regions were not available. At one point in 2007, more than 200 soldiers were trapped by insurgents in the tribal regions without a helicopter lift to rescue them.

The limited night vision equipment given to the army was taken away every three months for inventory and returned three weeks later.

Equipment was broken, and training was lacking. It was not until 2007 that money was given to the Frontier Corps, the front-line force, for training.

Retired Gen. Mahmud Durrani, who was Pakistan's Ambassador to the U.S. under Musharraf's regime said that "Pakistan insisted and America agreed. Pakistan said we also have a threat from other sources," referring to India, "and we have to strengthen our overall capacity. The money was used to buy and support capability against India."

As US army is still under attack in Afghanistan and the economy is under pressure maybe it's time to take stock. A minister in Musharraf's government, Daniyal Aziz said he had warned U.S. officials that the money they were giving his government was being misused, but to no avail.

"They both deserved each other, Musharraf and the Americans," he (Aziz) said.

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Rory Cripps

at 15:47 on October 4th, 2009

Thanks for this post!

Mritunjay

at 16:11 on October 4th, 2009

It's really sad that with so much force presence and investment of hard earned tax dollars allied forces fighting the war on terror are having to face so much due to such corruption.

This piece of news from CSI was a shocker:

This year has seen a rise in the number of US casualties in Afghanistan as the US troop presence has increased to 68,000 and the frequency of confrontations with the Taliban has grown. The Christian Science Monitor reported last month that 80 percent of Afghanistan now sees heavy insurgent activity, as opposed to 54 percent two years ago, with the violence growing particularly in northern Afghanistan.

I believe the troops deserve a better deal. Till now between 2001-2009; US Troops have suffered 869 casualties among a total of 1441 of total allied force fatalities.

Even the British Army has taken a similar hit.

Roy C

at 16:10 on October 4th, 2009

We can't provide protection from fraud in our Medicare program.

This is the typical politician thing of providing no oversight because that would be undiplomatic.

Mritunjay

at 16:52 on October 4th, 2009

I agree Roy. At times political apathy can be deadly for it's citizens.

Troops being killed in Afghanistan are also humans like us and deserve a fair treatment. They are trying to make the world a safer place by eliminating the terrorists and need support. If all the reports are true the apathy and dereliction by Pakistani authorities is seriously jeopardizing the safety of the troops.

SandyG.Arizona (not verified)

at 18:40 on October 4th, 2009

It's horrible that the we are spending billions to support the war on terror while our citizens are facing issues like unemployment and our troops being killed in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.Govt. should rethink its strategy. I don't want my tax dollars to be wasted but used properly.