Army Keeps Contracts with Terrorists to Avoid Violating “Due Process Rights”

Here is a crazy story involving the U.S. government’s $89.5 billion Afghanistan reconstruction effort; the United States Army refuses to suspend contracts with dozens of companies tied to al Qaeda and the Taliban out of fear that it could violate their “due process rights.”

It doesn’t get more outrageous than this! American tax dollars are going to the Middle Eastern terrorists that are trying to kill them. The best part, of course, is that the U.S. government has known about this for years yet won’t terminate the deals. It’s pure insanity, to put it quite mildly.

A conservative online newspaper broke the story this week, citing a report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) recommending that the Army suspend government contracts with 43 companies and individuals flagged for supporting the Taliban, the Haqqani network and al Qaeda. The firms have been identified by SIGAR for “providing material support to the insurgency in Afghanistan.”

Logically, the Afghanistan reconstruction watchdog recommends that the Army immediately cut business ties to the terrorists, who have been linked to the Taliban, al Qaeda and other like-minded, America-hating extremists. In fact, SIGAR has advised that these deplorable deals end in previous reports but the Army has refused to stop doing business with terrorists.

“The Army Suspension and Debarment Office appears to believe that suspension or debarment of these individuals and companies would be a violation of their due process rights if based on classified information or if based on findings by the Department of Commerce,” according to SIGAR’s lead inspector, John Sopko.

He revealed that he is “deeply troubled” by this and added the following: “I would also like to reiterate the concerns I raised in our last report about the Army’s refusal to act on SIGAR’s recommendations to prevent supporters of the insurgency, including supporters of the Taliban, the Haqqani network, and al Qaeda, from receiving government contracts.”

So, this has come up before and the Army has blown off the request. Sopko urges Congress to change this “faulty policy and enforce the rule of common sense in the Army’s suspension and debarment program.” After all, the watchdog discloses that evidence clearly demonstrates that the Army contracts are going to “individuals and entities” that are “providing material support to the insurgency in Afghanistan.”