Afghan Chances Dire After U.S. Spent $837 Billion, Watchdog Says
- Nation remains ‘poor, aid-dependent and conflict-affected’
- Inspector General sees the Afghan military ‘on its back foot’
An Afghan National Army soldier stands guard at Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul on July 2,
Photographer: Zakeria Hashimi/AFP/Getty Images
After spending at least $837 billion, the U.S. military is leaving an Afghanistan that “remains poor, aid-dependent, and conflict-affected, with any potential economic growth in the short term further limited by the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to the latest report by Congress’s independent watchdog.
The grim accounting was offered Thursday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the office that has documented billions in waste and corruption since lawmakers created it in fiscal 2008. The report was published just weeks before American forces are expected to complete their withdrawal after nearly 20 years.