Oversight wants to know which Afghan spending still classified

Top leaders of the House Oversight Committee are asking Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel why the Pentagon and NATO recently decided to classify information about U.S. spending in Afghanistan that was previously unclassified. 

In a letter Monday, the bipartisan group of lawmakers asked Hagel to provide a briefing to them and to identify specific items that will now be classified — though much of that decision has now been reversed.

“The safety and security of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan are paramount. However, inappropriately classifying information severely restricts the ability of Congress to conduct meaningful oversight and impairs the ability of the American people to know how billions of their taxpayer dollars are being spent in Afghanistan,” the letter said.

{mosads}The letter was signed by Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), ranking member Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), subcommittee on National Security Chairman Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), and its ranking member, Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.). 

In SIGAR’s most recent quarterly report to Congress from Jan. 30, it said the new decision to classify the information will prevent the inspector general for the first time in six years from reporting on “most of the U.S.-taxpayer-funded efforts to build, train, equip, and sustain the [Afghan National Security Forces].”

The report also said details on literacy training, anti-corruption initiatives and the number of Afghan police and soldiers will now only be available to a few congressional staffers. 

Part of the new decision has been rescinded since it was made earlier this year, the lawmakers wrote in their letter, but it’s unclear which items will remain classified. 

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, John F. Campbell, said the decision was made because of risks to U.S. forces that are still stationed there. 

As for the briefing, the lawmakers asked the Pentagon to brief them on the department’s plans to ensure over-classification of information doesn’t impair oversight of U.S. spending in Afghanistan. 

The request comes just days before Hagel will hand over the reigns as Defense chief to Ash Carter, whom the Senate is expected to confirm this week.