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MADRID, Spain — Waste and fraud in war zones and the fate of a U.S. diplomat detained in Pakistan are on the mind of Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, as he returns from a tour of Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.
Chaffetz said Thursday he anticipates two years of congressional hearings are ahead as investigators dive in to fraud and abuse problems.
"We are literally pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into these countries. We are looking particularly into the aid packages," Chaffetz said. "Is it making a difference? Is it getting to the finish line?"
We are literally pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into these countries...Is it making a difference?
–- Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah
Chaffetz was speaking from Torrejon Air Base near Madrid on Tuesday, en route home after his group skipped a planned stop in Egypt because of the massive political demonstrations centered in Cairo.
The Utah congressman, who is chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the United States Agency for International Development is in the spotlight, as are other financial issues making headlines.
Chaffetz said he received a classified briefing responding to New York Times reports that Kabul Bank in Afghanistan has hundreds of millions of dollars in nonperforming loans. The Kabul Bank issue was among the discussion items when he and five other congressmen met with Afghan President Hamid Karazi. "It's something our committee will be continuing to look at," Chaffetz said.
The group also met with the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He said the traveling congressmen also spent an hour with Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
"The military just does a spectacular job, but I have serious questions about the aid that is flowing into these countries. I'm not convinced it is doing any good," Chaffetz said.
The trip leaves Chaffetz with "no shortage of things for us to look into," he said. "We've got to be learning from our mistakes. I don't know that that's happening yet. We have so much experience in Iraq. We need to transfer that knowledge into Afghanistan and Pakistan."
Inspector General auditors for Afghan and Iraqi reconstruction are conducting internal audits. "You will see a series of hearings play out over the next two years as a result of this trip," Chaffetz said.
Pakistani authorities also took U.S. diplomat Raymond Allen Davis into custody following the Jan. 27 shooting deaths of two Pakistanis.
The Associated Press reported Davis said he was acting in self-defense when he shot two armed men who were intent on robbing him at gunpoint as he drove his car into the city of Lahore. A Pakistani court on Thursday ordered Davis be detained at least eight more days, in defiance of U.S. demands the man be released immediately.
"This was happening as we were arriving in (Pakistan), Chaffetz said. "We were asking for his release. He is a U.S. diplomat and consequently has immunity."
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