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Report Reveals U.S. Hemorrhaged USD29B in Afghanistan Debacle
(MENAFN) The United States hemorrhaged up to $29 billion through mismanagement and misconduct throughout its Afghanistan occupation while chasing unattainable objectives, a newly released government watchdog investigation reveals.
Published Wednesday, the report caps a 17-year probe by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), documenting 1,327 separate incidents of waste, fraud, and abuse totaling $26-29.2 billion. The overwhelming majority stemmed from operational inefficiencies and improper asset deployment, with fraud representing approximately 2% of losses and abuse comprising 4%. The watchdog determined that over $4.6 billion in taxpayer funds could have been preserved.
America's "20-year mission to build a stable, democratic" Afghanistan collapsed spectacularly, sabotaged from inception by unrealistic expectations and exacerbated by endemic corruption and public fund misappropriation, SIGAR concluded. The watchdog emphasized that Afghanistan must function as a warning to policymakers: any comparable reconstruction endeavor must acknowledge the substantial possibility of failure from its outset.
The US launched its Afghanistan invasion in late 2001 following the September 11 attacks, for which Washington identified Al-Qaeda as culpable. The organization's leadership, including Osama bin Laden, operated from Taliban-controlled Afghan territory. Through 2021, the US expended $763 billion on combat operations and approximately $145 billion on reconstruction efforts, according to SIGAR data.
US forces executed a rushed withdrawal in July 2021, one month before the Taliban reclaimed Kabul and toppled the Western-backed administration. The evacuation abandoned vast quantities of military hardware and infrastructure, including Bagram Air Base, formerly the invasion's operational nerve center.
US President Donald Trump attributed Kabul's collapse to his predecessor, Joe Biden, characterizing the disorderly departure as "a disgrace." He has contended that Washington "should take back" Bagram, proposing it could once more advance US national security priorities. The Taliban government dismissed the proposal, declaring that foreign military forces will never be permitted to return to Afghan soil.
Published Wednesday, the report caps a 17-year probe by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), documenting 1,327 separate incidents of waste, fraud, and abuse totaling $26-29.2 billion. The overwhelming majority stemmed from operational inefficiencies and improper asset deployment, with fraud representing approximately 2% of losses and abuse comprising 4%. The watchdog determined that over $4.6 billion in taxpayer funds could have been preserved.
America's "20-year mission to build a stable, democratic" Afghanistan collapsed spectacularly, sabotaged from inception by unrealistic expectations and exacerbated by endemic corruption and public fund misappropriation, SIGAR concluded. The watchdog emphasized that Afghanistan must function as a warning to policymakers: any comparable reconstruction endeavor must acknowledge the substantial possibility of failure from its outset.
The US launched its Afghanistan invasion in late 2001 following the September 11 attacks, for which Washington identified Al-Qaeda as culpable. The organization's leadership, including Osama bin Laden, operated from Taliban-controlled Afghan territory. Through 2021, the US expended $763 billion on combat operations and approximately $145 billion on reconstruction efforts, according to SIGAR data.
US forces executed a rushed withdrawal in July 2021, one month before the Taliban reclaimed Kabul and toppled the Western-backed administration. The evacuation abandoned vast quantities of military hardware and infrastructure, including Bagram Air Base, formerly the invasion's operational nerve center.
US President Donald Trump attributed Kabul's collapse to his predecessor, Joe Biden, characterizing the disorderly departure as "a disgrace." He has contended that Washington "should take back" Bagram, proposing it could once more advance US national security priorities. The Taliban government dismissed the proposal, declaring that foreign military forces will never be permitted to return to Afghan soil.
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