Senator Rand Paul is speaking out about millions of taxpayer dollars going to support the Somali National Army. There is currently a lack of oversight to make sure our funds aren’t being used to finance terrorists.
A report from the US State Department Office of Inspector General found that much of the aid being sent was unaccounted for.
“There’s 920 instances of child soldiers, forcing children to fight. There’s evidence that some of these soldiers are parts of al-Qaida. There’s also evidence that some of these soldiers are nothing more than highway robbers,” Senator Paul, chairman of the Subcommittee of Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management, told WCHS.
Following the Inspector General’s report, much of the aid to Somalia was cut, but the FSO subcommittee found that there is still an $8 million grant in place from the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, with $4.3 million in stipends for the Somali National Army, WCHS reports. Senator Paul is now calling for this aid to end.
“Our deficit this year will be a trillion dollars. Where is the money coming from? And also buying uniforms in the Somalian Army and paying their salary just isn’t something I think is a good use of American taxpayer dollars,” Paul said.
