{"id":26179,"date":"2018-09-13T17:34:32","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T17:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/13\/corruption-in-counterterrorism-aid-programs-fuels-extremist-groups-says-new-report\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:10:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:10:22","slug":"corruption-in-counterterrorism-aid-programs-fuels-extremist-groups-says-new-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/budget\/2018\/09\/13\/corruption-in-counterterrorism-aid-programs-fuels-extremist-groups-says-new-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Corruption in counterterrorism aid programs fuels extremist groups, says new report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 A report released this month by the Center for International Policy\u2019s Security Assistance Monitor finds that U.S. counterterrorism aid<\/a> intended to bolster U.S. and its allies’ efforts to combat violent extremists has also had the unintended consequence of fueling corruption and funding terrorist group activities and recruitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colby Goodman and Christinia Arabia, the authors of the report, say although the U.S. has included mechanisms designed to stymie the diversion of U.S. weapons and other kinds of security aid, \u201cthere are still important gaps in U.S. government efforts to assess, monitor, and evaluate U.S. counterterrorism aid, particularly related to corruption risks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCorruption involves far more than a waste of money,\u201d Goodman notes. \u201cIt also poses a grave danger to U.S. and global security by reducing the effectiveness of U.S. counterterror programs. In some instances, widespread corruption in military aid programs actually strengthens terrorist organizations by fueling anti-government sentiment, undermining the morale of front-line military personnel, and diverting U.S.-supplied equipment to groups like ISIS, the Taliban, and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report finds two-thirds of the recipients of U.S. counterterrorism aid<\/a> pose \u201cserious\u201d corruption risks. Routine practices such as nepotism in the recruitment and promotion system, bribery, extortion, the use of \u201cghost soldiers\u201d to divert money from fictitious military \u201cno shows\u201d to high-ranking officials, and flawed purchasing practices all pose the most serious corruption risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these risks, the United States continues to propose high levels of counterterrorism aid. The report says that from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2019, the U.S. proposed an estimated $24 billion in U.S. counterterrorism aid to 36 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and South and East Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of those 36 countries, 24 have engaged in at least three of the five key defense corruption practices that have fostered counterterrorism challenges in the past. The key corruption indicators here are cited as nepotism; ghost soldiers; theft or delay of soldiers’ pay; bribery; and illicit economic activities on the part of a nation\u2019s armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\t