The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan released its final report on the 20-year war and reconstruction, revealing that American actions and negotiations with the Taliban sidelined the Afghan government, weakening the country’s state structures.
According to the report, the United States allocated $144.7 billion for reconstruction in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2021, while spending an additional $763 billion on military operations.
The report highlighted that corruption within the Afghan government was the biggest obstacle to rebuilding, and Afghan security forces, despite $90 billion in funding, remained dependent on foreign troops. Following the U.S. withdrawal, Afghan forces rapidly collapsed, and thousands of ghost employees were identified.
U.S. support included 147,000 vehicles, thousands of military systems, 427,300 weapons, and 162 aircraft for Afghan security forces. After the withdrawal, $7.1 billion worth of equipment remained in the country.
The report also noted that $7.3 billion spent on counter narcotics programs yielded minimal results, and $4.7 billion on stabilization programs produced limited development.
During the war, 2,450 U.S. soldiers were killed and 20,700 wounded. After the withdrawal, $14.2 billion was allocated for Afghan refugee resettlement in the United States, while the Taliban government received $3.83 billion in aid over four years. In one quarter of March 2025 alone, $120 million was provided to the Taliban.
Global donors contributed $8.1 billion for UN-led projects after the U.S. exit, and six projects under the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund, totaling $1.5 billion, remained active. The Taliban continued to collect taxes and levies on the aid received.
