IMF denies Taliban access to millions in Afghanistan funding
CBSN
The International Monetary Fund says the Taliban, now in control of Afghanistan, will not be able to access nearly half a billion dollars in reserve funds, amid mounting pressure by the international community, including the U.S. Treasury Department.
This comes as a new allocation of assets, known as special drawing rights (SDRs), is scheduled to go out on August 23. An estimated $450 million of the $650 billion allocation was designated for Afghanistan. "As is always the case, the IMF is guided by the views of the international community. There is currently a lack of clarity within the international community regarding recognition of a government in Afghanistan, as a consequence of which the country cannot access SDRs or other IMF resources," a spokesperson for the IMF said in a statement to CBS News.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.