Investigative journalist Aram Roston talks about his recent Nation cover story, How the US Funds the Taliban, which outlines how the US government finances the very same forces that the military is trying to fight in Afghanistan. In order to maintain bases in Afghanistan, the US government employs Afgan drivers to move ammunition and supplies. Because the convoys have to drive through extremely dangerous terrain, American security companies reach agreements with the Taliban warlords in the area for protection. As Roston exposes, a minimum of ten percent of the pentagon’s contract consists of payments to the group, providing even more evidence that troop escalation is a terrible idea.

—Alana Levinson

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