“The chairwoman of the House subcommittee responsible for foreign aid said she was stripping from pending legislation $3.9 billion in funding for Afghanistan following revelations that billions of dollars, including large amounts of U.S. aid funds, were flowing out of the country through Kabul’s main airport. Rep. Nita Lowey (D., N.Y.) called the revelations ‘outrageous,’ and Capitol Hill aides said she had the backing of Rep. David Obey (D., Wis.), the chairman of the full House Appropriations Committee. ‘I do not intend to appropriate one more dime for assistance to Afghanistan until I have confidence that U.S. taxpayer money is not being abused to line the pockets of corrupt Afghan government officials, drug lords, and terrorists,’ Ms. Lowey said. At least $3.18 billion in cash has been flown out of Afghanistan since 2007 after being legally declared to customs officers, according to documents reported Monday [June 28, 2010] in The Wall Street Journal.”
– Peter Spiegel and Matthew Rosenberg, “Afghan Aid on Hold as Corruption Is Probed,” The Wall Street Journal, June 28, 2010