SIGAR: Two Decades of Afghan Reconstruction Marred by Waste, Corruption and Lack of Strategy

SIGAR Final Report: Two Decades Of Reconstruction Fell Short

Congress allocated roughly $144.7 billion for Afghanistan reconstruction from 2002 to 2021, but a final report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) concludes the funding failed to produce a stable, self-sufficient democracy. The agency attributes the failure to pervasive corruption among Afghan partners, systemic weaknesses in local institutions, and an absence of a coherent long-term strategy.

Released this week, the report compiles SIGAR’s previous audits and investigations. Acting Inspector General Gene Aloise wrote that the collection "highlights serious systemic issues with reconstruction and paints a picture of a two-decade long effort fraught with waste."

"We were seeing what was happening all along. This was not what winning looked like," Aloise said. He added that corruption "affected everything," describing Afghanistan’s government as "essentially a white-collar criminal enterprise."

Key Findings

• The U.S. invested approximately $144.7 billion in reconstruction efforts between 2002 and 2021 but did not achieve the intended political or security transformations.
• SIGAR estimates that roughly $38.6 billion in military equipment and U.S.-built infrastructure remained in Afghanistan after the 2021 withdrawal.
• Over its lifespan SIGAR identified at least $26 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse and reported more than $4.6 billion in cost savings for taxpayers through investigations and reforms.
• SIGAR’s quarterly reports, beginning around 2012, repeatedly documented systemic weaknesses in the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces and other institutions.
• The report raises concerns about U.S. officials’ classification of material and limited public scrutiny of problems SIGAR documented.

Post-Withdrawal Oversight Issues

SIGAR said it was not consulted for a Pentagon review of the 2021 withdrawal ordered in May by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Aloise also described post-withdrawal friction with the Biden administration: for about a year officials questioned SIGAR’s jurisdiction after troops left, despite ongoing flows of U.S. funds to Afghan programs. Congressional pressure was required to restore cooperation from the State Department and USAID.

Why This Matters

Aloise argued that SIGAR’s oversight produced a significant deterrent effect and reduced potential losses: "The deterrent effect of SIGAR was huge," he said, noting the value of independent oversight for any future large-scale assistance or reconstruction efforts in places such as Gaza or Ukraine.

Institutional Context: SIGAR was created by Congress in 2008 and is scheduled to close on Jan. 31. Its final reports and investigations leave a record of the challenges the U.S. faced in attempting to rebuild Afghanistan and underscore the need for clearer strategy, stronger anti-corruption measures, and robust oversight for future engagements.