NEW YORK - December 17 - The U.S. House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday an investigation into the Department of Defense's Afghan Host Nation Trucking Contract, in an inquiry prompted by Aram Roston's November investigation, How the U.S. Funds the Taliban.

In the story, supported by the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute and published as The Nation Magazine's November 12th cover story, Roston details how hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funds are being funneled to Afghan insurgents, including the Taliban, as payoffs to protect trucking supply lines. In the story, both U.S. and Afghan officials and private contractors admitted that it's almost impossible to ensure safe passage of U.S. and coalition supplies without offering bribes to the Taliban. 

In a statement, Representative John Tierney (D-Mass) said that if these allegations are shown to be true, "It would mean that the United States is unintentionally engaged in a vast protection racket and, as such, may be indirectly funding the very insurgents we are trying to fight."

The committee has requested documents from the Department of Defense and their primary trucking contractors related to the DOD's $2.1 billion "Host Nation Trucking" contract. On December 2nd, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conceded in testimony before congress that supply lines are a primary breeding ground for fraud and corruption by Afghan warlords. On December 7th, the spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan acknowledged that contract dollars might be making their way into Taliban hands. But the House Subcommittee investigation is the first official inquiry resulting from Roston's Nation cover story. 

"As the U.S. escalates its presence in Afghanistan, corruption and fraud are emerging as a central challenge in the conflict," said Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation's Editor and Publisher. "Aram Roston's reporting, and the Tierney investigation, are pulling back the curtain on corruption that imperils any hope for peace in Afghanistan. We commend Rep. Tierney for opening an inquest, and will continue to report on this story in The Nation." 

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