The US government mistakenly transferred $239 million to Taliban. The Taliban is also known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is an Afghan political and militant movement. Their ideology combines elements of Pashtun nationalism and the Deobandi movement of Islamic fundamentalism. From 1996 to 2001 they ruled approximately 75% of Afghanistan.
However after the September 11th attacks carried out by their ally al-Qaeda they were overthrown by an American invasion12. They claim to follow Islam but their beliefs are more extreme than those of most Muslims. The Taliban has been fighting to regain control of Afghanistan and enforce their strict version of Sharia or Islamic law3.
A claim is widely circulating on internet that the US government mistakenly transferred $239 million to Taliban. This happened after the State Department made a mistake in checking who was receiving the funds. The money was meant for counterterrorism efforts but it ended up in the hands of the extremist group. This blunder occurred following the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The US government wanted to give this aid to two state department visions which were human rights, democracy and labor. The second were International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. However the funds were mistakenly transferred to the Taliban.
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Will Taliban Pay Back The Amount?
The U.S. and the Taliban have a long history of antagonism. The Taliban emerged in the 1990s during the Afghan civil war and their rule from 1996 to 2001 was known by extreme interpretations of Islamic law, human rights abuses and sheltering of terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 aimed to dismantle al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power.
The recent withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021 left a power vacuum allowing the Taliban to regain control. The accidental transfer of funds to the Taliban further complicates matters. The U.S. faces a dilemma on how to engage with a group it once fought against while ensuring humanitarian aid reaches the Afghan people as the U.S. wants to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan especially after the Taliban takeover. However there are concerns that aid funds could inadvertently support the Taliban’s activities.
In conclusion, the claim that the U.S. sent $239 million to the Taliban lacks evidence. The U.S. government and experts have both denied it.
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