Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Watchdog: US wasted billions in Afghanistan on buildings, vehicles
ISLAMABAD — The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. government watchdog.
The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of buildings and vehicles “were maintained in good condition,” said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which oversees American taxpayer money spent on the protracted conflict.
The report said just $1.2 billion of the $7.8 billion went to pay for buildings and vehicles that were used as intended.
“The fact that so many capital assets wound up not used, deteriorated or abandoned should have been a major cause of concern for the agencies financing these projects,” John F. Sopko, the special inspector general, said in his report.
The U.S. public is weary of the nearly 20-year-old war, and President Joe Biden is reviewing a peace deal his predecessor, Donald Trump, signed with the Taliban a year ago. He must decide whether to withdraw all troops by May 1, as promised in the deal, or stay and possibly prolong the war. Officials say no decision has been made, but on Monday, Washington’s peace envoy and the American who brokered the U.S.-Taliban deal, Zalmay Khalilzad, was back in the Afghan capital for a tour of the region.
Taliban insurgents and the Afghan government have been holding on-again-off-again talks in Qatar, but a deal that could bring peace to Afghanistan after 40 years of relentless war seems far off.
Cuomo investigation: New York’s attorney general said she’s moving forward with an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo after receiving a letter from his office Monday authorizing her to take charge of the probe.
The referral letter allows Attorney General Letitia James to deputize an outside law firm to conduct the inquiry with full subpoena power. When the investigation is finished, the findings will be disclosed in a public report, the letter said.
James, in a statement announcing she received the letter, said: “This is not a responsibility we take lightly as allegations of sexual harassment should always be taken seriously.”
Two women who’ve worked for Cuomo have come forward to accuse him of sexual harassment.
The governor, a Democrat, acknowledged for the first time Sunday that some of his behavior with women “may have been insensitive or too personal,” and said he would cooperate with the attorney general’s investigation.
Cuomo addressed the allegations in a statement and has not been seen in public since Wednesday. He maintained he had never inappropriately touched or propositioned anyone. But he said he had teased people about their personal lives in an attempt to be “playful.”
Education secretary: The Senate voted Monday to confirm Miguel Cardona as education secretary, clearing his way to lead President Joe Biden’s effort to reopen the nation’s schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Cardona, 45, a former public school teacher who went on to become Connecticut’s education chief, was approved on a 64-33 vote.
He takes charge of the Education Department amid mounting tension between Americans who believe students can safely return to the classroom now, and others who say the risks are still too great.
Cardona, who gained attention for his efforts to reopen schools in Connecticut, has vowed to make it his top priority to reopen schools. At his Senate confirmation hearing last month, he said there are “great examples throughout our country of schools that have been able to reopen safely.”
Protesters tear-gassed: Police in Myanmar’s biggest city fired tear gas Monday at defiant crowds who returned to the streets to protest last month’s coup, despite reports that security forces had killed at least 18 people a day earlier.
The protesters in Yangon were chased as they tried to gather at their usual meeting spot at the Hledan Center intersection.
The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar after five decades of military rule. It came Feb. 1, the same day a newly elected Parliament was supposed to take office. Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party would have led that government, but instead she was detained along with President Win Myint and other senior officials.
The army has leveled several charges against Suu Kyi — an apparent effort by the military to provide a legal veneer for her detention and potentially to bar her from running in the election the junta has promised to hold in one year. On Monday, Suu Kyi made a court appearance via videoconference and was charged with two more offenses, her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters.
Sarkozy convicted: A Paris court found former President Nicolas Sarkozy, 66, guilty of corruption and influence peddling Monday and sentenced him to a year in prison. He can ask to serve that time at home and also plans to appeal.
Sarkozy, who was president of France from 2007 to 2012, was convicted of trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated.
He will remain free while he appeals, but it was a blow to the retired politician who still plays an influential role in French conservative politics.
It’s not the end of his legal troubles either: He faces another trial later this month and is also under investigation in a third case.
The ruling marks the first time in France’s modern history that a former president has been convicted of corruption — and given a prison term. His predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was found guilty in 2011 of misuse of public money during his time as Paris mayor — not considered a corruption offense — and was given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
Prince Philip moved: Prince Philip was transferred Monday to a specialized London heart hospital to undergo testing and observation for a preexisting heart condition as he continues to be treated for an unspecified infection, Buckingham Palace said.
The 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II was moved from King Edward VII’s Hospital, where he has been treated since Feb. 17, to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, which specializes in cardiac care.
The palace says Philip “remains comfortable and is responding to treatment but is expected to remain in hospital until at least the end of the week.”