Cash for Chaos: Congress Grills USAID Over Millions Sent to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan

The congressional hearing room was thick with tension, the air charged by a sense of outrage and disbelief. At the center of it all was Representative Scott Perry, his voice raw and unfiltered, as he delivered a message that landed like a punch to the gut: American taxpayer dollars—nearly $700 million in 2024 alone—are flowing straight into the hands of the Taliban, a group officially designated as a global terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

This wasn’t just another political debate. Perry’s words cut deeper, reopening wounds that have never truly healed since the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. He accused USAID—America’s foreign aid agency—of not just incompetence, but of betrayal. This is the story of how U.S. aid, meant to help, may be fueling the very enemies America fought for two decades.

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## The Taliban’s New Treasury: Money, Power, and Terror

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist,” Perry began, his frustration palpable. “Just read the headlines. The Taliban is in charge of Afghanistan. They’re classified as a specially designated global terrorist organization by OFAC.”

Yet, despite this clear designation, Perry revealed that in 2024, the United States sent $697 million to Afghanistan. Of that, over $534 million was funneled through USAID. “Who’s in charge of Afghanistan now?” Perry asked, letting the question hang in the air. “Sirajuddin Haqqani—the leader of the Haqqani network. Abdullah bin Laden. Does that name ring a bell?”

Perry’s point was simple, brutal, and undeniable: American money is being routed to a regime that not only harbors terrorists but is run by them.

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## Where Does the Money Go? Taliban Tactics Exposed

Perry didn’t stop at numbers. He laid out, step by step, how the Taliban manipulates aid:

– **Threatening NGO Workers:** Taliban fighters intimidate and threaten the lives of aid workers distributing U.S. funds.
– **Claiming Credit:** The Taliban publicly claims credit for USAID distributions, using American aid to bolster their own legitimacy.
– **Interference and Extortion:** They interfere with deliveries, tax beneficiaries and delivery services, steal food commodities, and divert funds.
– **Sham Procurement Schemes:** Taliban operatives create fake procurement schemes and threaten those who oppose them.
– **Protection Rackets:** Villages are extorted for “protection” in exchange for receiving aid.

All this, Perry noted, was happening even before the U.S. withdrawal in 2021. Now, with the Taliban fully in control, he argued, the situation has only worsened.

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## The Numbers Behind the Nightmare

Perry’s testimony was packed with figures that stunned the room:

– **$697 Million**: U.S. taxpayer money sent to Afghanistan in 2024.
– **$534 Million**: Directly from USAID.
– **$40–80 Million**: Weekly shipments of cash still landing in Afghanistan.
– **22,500**: Americans killed or wounded in Afghanistan over 20 years.
– **$2 Trillion**: Total U.S. spending on the war.

“Spending over $2 trillion, losing over 22,000 Americans, and now we just keep sending money, hoping it’ll get better,” Perry said. “But who’s really getting that money?”

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## Funding Terror: Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and More

Perry’s voice grew heavier as he detailed where the money ends up. “Your money—$697 million annually, plus weekly shipments of cash—funds madrasas, ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS-Khorasan, terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding.”

He cited the Inspector General’s report, which found that the Taliban does not allow women to speak in public, yet U.S. programs like the “Women’s Scholarship Endowment” ($60 million annually) and “Young Women Lead” ($5 million annually) are supposedly helping Afghan women. “It’s not,” Perry said. “You are funding terrorism, and it’s coming through USAID.”

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## The Pakistan Problem: Ghost Schools and TV Programs

Perry didn’t limit his criticism to Afghanistan. He turned to Pakistan, where USAID spent $840 million over 20 years on education-related programs, including $136 million to build 120 schools. “There is zero evidence any of them were built,” Perry said. “Inspectors can’t get in to see them. The buildings don’t exist.”

Instead, he revealed, USAID doubled down and spent another $20 million on educational TV programs for children supposedly attending these phantom schools. “They can’t attend because the schools don’t exist. You paid for it. Someone else got the money.”

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## The Pain of Betrayal: Veterans and Families Left Behind

Perry’s anger wasn’t just about wasted money—it was about the betrayal of American veterans and their families. “Twenty-two thousand Americans lost or wounded in Afghanistan. Thousands of families shattered. Now their sacrifice is being mocked by bags of U.S. cash flowing into the hands of the very people they fought against.”

He called it “disgraceful” and “shameful,” and his emotion filled the room. For a moment, there was only silence—a collective recognition of the pain and frustration he was voicing.

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## USAID: A Legacy Lost?

USAID was created by executive order in 1961 by President Kennedy, Perry reminded the committee. “Long having lost and strayed from its mission, lost its direction. Even the Clinton administration tried unsuccessfully to reform it.”

The agency now spends between $40 and $50 billion annually. Perry’s indictment was clear: “If our enemies were asked to design a foreign aid program to undermine the United States at maximum cost to the taxpayer, they would be hardpressed to create a scheme more effective than USAID.”

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## The Other Side: Defending USAID

After Perry’s blistering attack, Representative Ami Bera of California took the floor. He thanked USAID workers for their service, calling them “patriotic Americans” doing “God’s work.” Bera described visiting refugee camps and seeing USAID’s life-saving efforts firsthand.

“It’s super important work that they do,” Bera insisted. “It represents the best of American values, and it’s really sad to see these folks get thrown under the bus.”

But even Bera acknowledged that oversight was necessary. “We can go line by line and say, ‘Here’s the programs that make sense. Here’s the ones that don’t.’ That’s our job. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”

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## Congressional Reckoning: The Call for Accountability

Perry’s message was simple and devastating: America deserves answers. Veterans deserve respect. Taxpayers deserve accountability.

He didn’t just accuse USAID of incompetence; he accused it of betrayal. His words were a reckoning—a demand for change.

“We’re just going to keep on spending because somehow we think it’s going to get better,” Perry said. “This has got to end.”

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## The Fallout: What Happens Next?

As Perry finished, there were no cheers, no applause—just a heavy, suffocating silence. The hearing had become a moment of truth, a public reckoning with the legacy of America’s longest war and its aftermath.

The pain Perry spoke from was real: the pain of veterans, the pain of wasted sacrifice, the pain of a nation watching its money strengthen the enemies it fought for 20 years.

Whether anything changes now, only time will tell. But Perry’s words will echo long after the hearing ends.

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## Conclusion: Cash for Chaos

The congressional hearing exposed a crisis at the heart of American foreign aid. Billions in taxpayer dollars, meant to help, may be fueling chaos and terrorism instead. The Taliban’s grip on Afghanistan is tighter than ever, and U.S. money is allegedly strengthening their hold.

For veterans, families, and taxpayers, the questions remain: Who is watching the money? Who is accountable? And when will the cycle end?

America deserves answers. The world is watching.

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*If you care about where your tax dollars go, about the sacrifice of veterans, and about the future of U.S. foreign aid, hit subscribe, like, and turn on notifications. These political firestorms aren’t slowing down anytime soon.*