The Taliban Gets Rich off the American Cohort

Militants Have Found a New Source of Income

The reopening of the Pakistani route for transporting U.S. and NATO cargo into Afghanistan promises great profits for the Taliban movement. The Taliban is expecting to receive bribes from private security companies escorting cargo through areas under its control in exchange for the right of safe passage. The Pentagon is determined to stop any schemes by which American taxpayers’ money trickles down to enemies of the U.S., but admits that the complete eradication of illegal operations is difficult.

The restoration of the transport channel for NATO goods through Pakistan, sanctioned by Islamabad in July, did not ensure the route’s safety. Militants of the Taliban movement, evidently determined to disrupt the supply of goods to the U.S. and NATO, have already shot and set fire to a NATO convoy in the province of Baluchistan. They also killed a truck driver on the outskirts of Peshwar, the capital of the most problematic northwestern region of the country.

Incidentally, the transporters and guards of the private companies have a way to get the American military anything it needs without getting involved in gunfights: corrupt schemes involving interaction with the Taliban. The militants are perfectly willing to pass over those caravans that have paid for passage in areas of Taliban control. And the Taliban uses the money earned on the transit channel to continue its war with American and NATO military contingents.

“We had to wait for seven months before the supply line was restored along with our source of income. And we are determined to get our piece of the pie. Now everything will go well for us,” confidently proclaimed the commander of a detachment of militants operating in the Afghan province of Ghazni.

The scheme by which the Taliban is preparing to make money is not new. In 2010, the U.S. Congress issued a report titled “Warlord, Inc.: Extortion and Corruption along the U.S. Supply Chain in Afghanistan.” The document concluded that many private security companies hired to ensure the safety of supply convoys used “gray” schemes and cooperated with the Taliban. According to the estimates of U.S. military command, nearly $360 million earmarked for transportation in 2011 ended up in the hands of militants and local criminal gangs.

Moreover, according to political analysts, the actual sum could be even greater. “No one will say what percent of U.S. funds allocated for transit ends up in the hands of the Taliban,” said Kommersant’s military expert, Alexander Goltz. “The Americans never openly admit to paying bribes.”

Having learned through bitter experience, the Pentagon is determined to increase transparency and minimize the outpouring of supply line funds after the restoration of the Pakistani transit route. The U.S. military command has already signed a new contract for the supply of food, water and fuel for its bases in Afghanistan at a cost of $1 million — this time with different cargo carriers and security companies. The current contract differs from the previous one in that it stipulates closer supervision over the actions of the contractors by the army. But the Pentagon is confident in neither the absolute legalization of the transport nor in the preservation of its funds. “I think it would be naive on my part to suggest that no money is going to the enemy,” admitted Major General Richard Longo, chairman of a special anti-corruption task force for the U.S. troops in Afghanistan. “…it’s very difficult to cut off the illegal transfers completely.”