Afghanistan IG calls for more oversight to prevent fraud, avoid 'significant mistakes' in $133B Ukrainian aid

As nan U.S. commits to support Ukraine nary matter really agelong it takes, immoderate successful authorities are asking: Did America study its lessons from Afghanistan?

Ukraine is not Afghanistan, but successful position of really nan U.S. approaches assistance and oversight of funds, "has that changed?" asked John Sopko, nan typical inspector wide for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR) which tracked billions of dollars of wasted money complete nan decades-long effort to rebuild that nation.

"We made immoderate important mistakes successful dealing pinch Afghanistan," he said successful an question and reply pinch Fox News Digital.

The one-year day of Russia's penetration and Ukraine's defense of its territory came pinch commitments from President Biden to lend much than nan $113 cardinal already appropriated for nan war, and a near-unanimous chorus of lawmakers promising further assistance successful weapons and money. 

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"The very worst result is that nan assistance gets diverted, stolen successful specified a measurement that it doesn't execute its intended intent — successful this case, providing nan Ukrainians pinch nan weapons and nan money to triumph their warfare against nan aggressor, Russia," Sopko told Fox News.

Ukrainian unit clasp a Ukrainian emblem arsenic they guidelines connected a Challenger 2 vessel during training astatine Bovington Camp, adjacent Wool successful southwestern Britain, February 22, 2023. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)

The mobility isn't whether money mightiness beryllium mislaid to fraud aliases incompetence successful Ukraine but what nan U.S. tin do to forestall it.

"We're spending a heck of a batch of money successful that country, and immoderate clip you walk that overmuch money successful immoderate country, you're bound to get wastage," Sopko said. "You're bound to get corrupt elements of not only nan Ukrainian aliases nan big government, but besides of U.S. authorities contractors aliases different 3rd statement contractors to effort to bargain nan money. There's conscionable truthful overmuch money going in, and it's difficult to support way of."

Sopko's study of nan business successful Afghanistan successful nan later stages of nan U.S. involvement, earlier America withdrew each forces successful a messy exit, paints a gruesome image of what could hap erstwhile overseas assistance is perceived arsenic flowing to corrupt section leaders. 

Without capable oversight, assistance "gets stolen aliases diverted to section oligarchs aliases section politicians, aliases conscionable nan mean Ukrainian will spot nan waste," Sopko said. The consequence would beryllium a nonaccomplishment of "support of nan Ukrainian authorities by nan mean Ukrainian who's fighting, dying and bleeding astatine nan front. And that's what we saw successful Afghanistan. The Afghans saw each nan money being diverted by corrupt politicians by their type of oligarchs and truthful erstwhile nan Taliban was pushing toward nan end, nan mean Afghan worker aliases constabulary serviceman aliases bureaucrat conscionable said, 'I'm not gonna dice for this government… they're stealing everything.' And we, nan donors, nan U.S., were identified arsenic supporting nan corrupt oligarchs."

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Sopko does not foretell Ukraine will go a 2nd Afghanistan — nan 2 countries are vastly different successful culture, infrastructure, civilian building and governance. Ukraine's warfare is simply a protect conflict against a powerful foe, while Afghanistan was a civilian war.

Nevertheless, corruption is not confined to 1 area of nan globe. 

U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy locomotion adjacent to Saint Michael’s cathedral, amid Russia's onslaught connected Ukraine, successful Kyiv, Ukraine February 20, 2023. (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich     )

Ukraine's authorities successful 2023 is amended disconnected than nan authorities of a decade ago, which was mired successful corruption successful portion owed to pro-Kremlin and holdover Soviet interests.

But really different it is from Afghanistan doesn't measurement into nan request for oversight, Sopko said.

"What's akin is that we're spending a heck of a batch of money successful that country, and immoderate clip you walk that overmuch money successful immoderate country, you're bound to get wastage," Sopko said. "You're bound to get corrupt elements of not only nan Ukrainian aliases nan big government, but besides of U.S. authorities contractors aliases different 3rd statement contractors to effort to bargain nan money. There's conscionable truthful overmuch money going in, and it's difficult to support way of."

In bid to do oversight properly, Sopko identified respective basal conditions based connected his years investigating nan U.S. and different nations' investments successful Afghanistan. First, location needs to beryllium unit connected nan crushed who speak nan connection and understand nan section powerfulness structures successful nan Ukrainian government. 

Another request for an effective watchdog is that it should person authority to analyse each agency and each government. Current oversight efforts are "stovepiped" by nan section — State Department aid is overseen by State's IG, and doesn't person nan authority to way nan Pentagon's contributions, which falls nether nan Department of Defense IG. 

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"We issued reports up to nan illness of nan Afghan authorities saying that nan Department of Defense could not show america what weapons we had given, and what weapons nan Afghans had," Sopko said. 

The U.S. has ramped up commitments to nonstop weapons to assistance Ukraine successful caller months, and respective lawmakers person called connected nan Biden management to item plans for oversight. 

John F. Sopko, typical inspector wide for Afghanistan reconstruction, testifies earlier nan Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee successful nan Dirksen Senate Office Building connected February 11, 2020, successful Washington, DC.  (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

In January, nan IGs astatine nan Pentagon, State Department and USAID released a scheme for nan "Ukraine Oversight Interagency Working Group" to supply real-time oversight complete each nan equipment, costs and different assistance to Ukraine. The oversight involves 17 abstracted oversight agencies moving together — which Sopko quipped would beryllium for illustration "herding cats."

The moving group had dozens of reports planned for nan coming twelvemonth and surely will adhd more. Already nan IGs person identified a weakness, peculiarly successful nan Pentagon's information aid: There aren't capable U.S. unit successful Ukraine to way what's happening pinch nan U.S. weapons and instrumentality sent there.

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Congress besides has ramped up calls for a typical inspector for Ukraine aid.  "We person not seen immoderate signs that our budgetary assistance has fallen prey to immoderate benignant of corruption successful Ukraine,"

Other experts reason nan business successful Ukraine is different capable from Afghanistan not to warrant a typical inspector. Ukraine has proved it is capable to analyse and guidelines retired corruption, according to Sarah Hoffman of nan Center for Strategic and International Studies. She notes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proved he was superior astir stamping retired corruption by firing respective officials past period and that nan oversight moving group quickly spun up the

"Congress and different Washington-based stakeholders should put their spot successful nan existing mechanisms successful spot and fto them do their jobs," Hoffman wrote successful an sentiment file for The Hill this week.

Calls from Congress to trim aliases slow funding, Hoffman added, only thief nan Kremlin.

Ukrainian military's Grad aggregate rocket launcher fires rockets astatine Russian positions successful nan frontline adjacent Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022 (AP Photo/LIBKOS, File)

"We person not seen immoderate signs that our budgetary assistance has fallen prey to immoderate benignant of corruption successful Ukraine," Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby told lawmakers connected Jan. 25. 

Kirby's connection came 1 time aft reports that Zelenskyy had fired authorities officials who had "allegedly engaged successful bribery, utilized authorities vehicles for individual use, and purchased inflated nutrient supplies for Ukrainian forces," Rep. James Comer, chair of nan House Oversight Committee, wrote successful a letter to nan Biden management demanding much transparency.

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The telephone for oversight should beryllium abstracted from nan request for aid, according Sopko, but can't beryllium ignored conscionable because nan extremity is simply a noble one. Sopko looks to nan illustration of Harry Truman, who, earlier moving for president, made a sanction for himself successful nan Senate by investigating warfare profiteering successful nan early years of WWII — possibly nan "most righteous war" America has ever fought, Sopko said.

"We must look and protect nan taxpayers' money, nary matter really bully nan cause," he said.