Corruption rampant among US politicians: Ex-CIA expert

A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst says that corruption is rampant among government officials in the United States, and that Congressmen are misappropriating funds earmarked for Afghanistan’s reconstruction, Press TV reports.

“The contractors, the corporations don’t really care whether Taliban or suspected militants get this money as long as they’re getting their cut and as long as Congress is getting contributions in return,” Ray McGovern told Press TV on Saturday.

As to who would benefit from such a phenomenon, McGovern said, “If Congress and the contractors and corporations and the army, which has of course the best of interest in keeping the war going, if they all profit from this, well one very cynical explanation for all this, is that the army is afraid that they run out of militants.”

The remarks come as a recent audit issued by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) revealed terrorists and those who support militancy in Afghanistan have been receiving US government taxpayer-funded contracts.

The audit, titled “Contracting with the Enemy”, found significant weaknesses in the oversight intended to keep the Pentagon from giving contracts to Taliban and other militant networks.

Nearly $2 billion in contracts were awarded in 2012 alone, though it is unclear how much of that may have benefited the Afghan militancy.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.

According to the United Nations, thousands of Afghan civilians have died and hundreds of thousands more displaced during the war.