evidence: The United States’ and its allies’ massive military spending and contracts contributed significantly to already existing corruption in Afghanistan. U.S. military contracts, like the Host Nation Trucking (HNT) agreement — a $2.16 billion contract providing logistical support to NATO — morphed into a mechanism for wielding money as a weapon in rewarding warlords and political elites for security and safety of its logistical supplies. International military spending and aid became the biggest creditors of "rent" for Afghanistan, by large margins. U.S. money permeated all levels of Afghan polity and society, perpetuating an environment conducive to embezzlement, fraud, and favoritism.