Quote of the Day: Sniffing Out Afghan Corruption—or Not

Quote of the Day: Sniffing Out Afghan Corruption—or Not

Quote of the Day: Sniffing Out Afghan Corruption—or Not

Missouri democrat to ex-Marine whose office is charged with mishandling millions of dollars intended for Afghanistan reconstruction. "I don’t mean to be cruel. I don’t think you’re the right person for this job."

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Quote of the Day:
 
"I don’t mean to be cruel. I don’t think you’re the right person for this job."
 
—Senator Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat, in November, speaking to Arnold Fields, the ex-Marine who heads the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, who resigned this week. His office is charged with reviewing $56 billion in US funds spent in Afghanistan to economic projects and other uses. The budget for SIGAR is $46 million a year. So far its intepid watchdogs have sniffed out a grand total of $8 million wrongly spent. I think I could find another $46 million.

Like this Blog Post? Read it on the Nation’s free iPhone App, NationNow.
NationNow iPhone App

Support The Nation’s June Fundraising Campaign

With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.

We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we’re raising $20,000 to power The Nation’s independent journalism in the run-up to November’s immensely consequential elections.

It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x