Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) claimed that several million of the Biden administration's humanitarian aid for Afghanistan has ended up in the hands of the Taliban. Mast cites State Department spending reports presented to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mast brought the committee a report showing $2.8 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan. The expense was paid by the White House, despite the fact that in 2021, the internationally recognized Afghan government was overthrown by the Taliban after the United States announced its military departure from the country.

"Another example is that the Biden administration has sent more than $2.8 billion to Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August of 2021. The report shows tens of millions of dollars of that money going directly into the hands of the Taliban," Mast said in statements obtained by Fox News. The Florida representative assures that these expenses are the "tip of the iceberg" and that there are many more similar expenses paid by the Biden administration.

Mast's accusations join those of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, who last May also claimed that the findings of a federal inspector general indicate that at least $10.9 million of U.S. taxpayer dollars ended up, at least indirectly, in the pockets of the Taliban. McCaul described the situation as "unacceptable."

Military funds and materials

The abrupt departure of the United States from Afghanistan in 2021 also created a delicate situation with all the material that the military left behind, including that which was donated to the previous government with the aim of building its armed forces.

From 2021 until now, it has been seen how the Taliban have taken advantage of the military resources of the United States. A Department of Defense document, made public in 2022, shows the approximate cost of the material abandoned in the withdrawal from Kabul amounts to nearly $7 billion. This calculation does not take into account all the investment in military infrastructure and procurement aid that the U.S. government donated to the Afghan government. Upon regaining power, the Taliban also took control of this material and thus almost all of these donated military assets.