Overview
- SIGAR’s 137-page final audit concludes the two-decade effort failed to deliver stability or democracy despite $148.2 billion in reconstruction outlays.
- Investigators identified $26 billion to $29.2 billion lost to waste, fraud, and abuse, logged more than 1,300 instances, secured 171 convictions, and recovered nearly $1.7 billion while generating $4.6 billion in savings.
- Roughly 60% of funds went to security programs, which furnished Afghan forces with tens of thousands of vehicles, hundreds of thousands of weapons, and at least 162 aircraft.
- The Defense Department found about $7.1 billion in U.S.-provided equipment was left during the 2021 evacuation and fell to the Taliban, with U.S.-built facilities not destroyed presumed under Taliban control.
- SIGAR, which says it faced access pushback in recent years, is set to close on Jan. 31, 2026, as a separate Pentagon review of the withdrawal proceeds without its participation.