Sonny Clark
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #1
Did you know that the spending in Afghanistan is now secret information?
What the Pentagon is Hiding from Its Auditors
The Defense Department just made it extremely difficult for federal auditors to keep track of how billions of dollars are being spent in Afghanistan.
In its quarterly report to Congress, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) told lawmakers that the government has classified an “unprecedented” amount of information about the U.S.’s $65 billion dollar efforts to bolster the Afghan National Security Forces.
Related: Pentagon Refuses to Verify $300 Million a Year in Afghanistan is Spent Properly
Everything from the number of troops to the kind of training they’re receiving is now a secret—a big change from the past six years, when all of that information was publicly available and could be cited in federal audits, according to SIGAR.
Now, the auditors say, classifying the increasing amount of information will hamstring their efforts and make it difficult to hold agencies and contractors accountable.
“The decision leaves SIGAR unable to publicly report on most of the $65 billion U.S.-taxpayer-funded efforts to build, train, equip, and sustain the ANSF,” SIGAR’s John Sopko said in the report. “This includes Afghan troop numbers, salaries, training, equipment and infrastructure projects.”
The newly classified data was left out of SIGAR’s quarterly report to Congress released today. Now, it can only be accessed by government officials with the required security clearance.
What the Pentagon is Hiding from Its Auditors The Fiscal Times
What the Pentagon is Hiding from Its Auditors
The Defense Department just made it extremely difficult for federal auditors to keep track of how billions of dollars are being spent in Afghanistan.
In its quarterly report to Congress, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) told lawmakers that the government has classified an “unprecedented” amount of information about the U.S.’s $65 billion dollar efforts to bolster the Afghan National Security Forces.
Related: Pentagon Refuses to Verify $300 Million a Year in Afghanistan is Spent Properly
Everything from the number of troops to the kind of training they’re receiving is now a secret—a big change from the past six years, when all of that information was publicly available and could be cited in federal audits, according to SIGAR.
Now, the auditors say, classifying the increasing amount of information will hamstring their efforts and make it difficult to hold agencies and contractors accountable.
“The decision leaves SIGAR unable to publicly report on most of the $65 billion U.S.-taxpayer-funded efforts to build, train, equip, and sustain the ANSF,” SIGAR’s John Sopko said in the report. “This includes Afghan troop numbers, salaries, training, equipment and infrastructure projects.”
The newly classified data was left out of SIGAR’s quarterly report to Congress released today. Now, it can only be accessed by government officials with the required security clearance.
What the Pentagon is Hiding from Its Auditors The Fiscal Times