What will happen to the $6 billion currently allocated to helping the former Afghan government?

 

A helicopter evacuates people in Afghanistan. Politico.

With almost $6 billion currently allocated to the former Afghan government, questions are being raised as to what to do with the money. Politico. $3 billion was from the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years that hasn't been spent and another $3.3 billion allocated to train the Afghan army and air force. $350 million will be used to pay out contractors but the rest is up for grabs. Some of the funds will likely be earmarked for counter-terror operations as the fall of Afghanistan has severely disrupted anti-terror efforts in the region. Progressives are demanding the money be spent on Afghan refugees. 

My Comment:

Well, it looks like one of the winners of the fall of Afghanistan will be whoever ends up with this money. There are probably some defense contractors salivating at the thought of getting this money and they aren't the only ones. 

I do worry that the progressives will use this money to bring in Afghan "refugees". I don't have a problem with bringing a limited number of translators but I am guessing this money will be used to bring a bunch of unvetted people that will probably end up blowing up a shopping mall within a year. 

What really bothers me though is the fact that simply using the money to either pay back debt or not accrue new debt. If it was up to me this money would be paid to the national debt. It would be a tiny drop in the bucket of course but it would at least be an improvement on the situation. 

I am guessing that this money will be wasted. It will likely go to something stupid like a bunch of $900 hammers or other stupid project. It won't go to the people of the United States and I doubt anyone will actually get any use out of it. 

I am guessing a lot of the money will go to anti-terror operations now. The fall of Afghanistan has pretty much destroyed our ability to conduct anti-terror operations in the region. We have no boots on the ground, many of our agents are dead or on the run and we have no airbases in the region to launch drone strikes or air strikes. Though I think the threat from al-Qaeda and ISIS in the region has been overstated it is important to make sure they don't come back. My guess is that a lot of the money will go to that goal.