Hanif Sufizada, The Conversation: The Taliban are megarich – here’s where they get the money they use to wage war in Afghanistan
The Taliban militants of Afghanistan have grown richer and more powerful since their fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001.
In the fiscal year that ended in March 2020, the Taliban reportedly brought in US$1.6 billion, according to Mullah Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, who revealed the Taliban’s income sources in a confidential report commissioned by NATO and later obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
In comparison, the Afghan government brought in $5.55 billion during the same period.
I study the Taliban’s finances as an economic policy analyst at the Center for Afghanistan Studies. Here’s where their money comes from.
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WNU Editor: The Islamic State in Syria and Iraq were defeated when their sources for money were destroyed. Why this approach failed in Afghanistan is a question that should be analyzed and answered.
