Afghanistan’s $104 billion U.S.-funded reconstruction program risks being entirely wasted, according to the latest warning of a government watchdog.
“The evidence is clear that American taxpayer dollars … are being placed at unnecessarily high levels of risk by widespread failure to … implement prudent countermeasures,” said Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko in a report made public Wednesday.
The integrity of the reconstruction process is threatened by factors such as Afghan corruption and the U.S. failure to combat it, and the presence of so many projects that were designed without regard for their long-term viability after American military forces are reduced.
“The initial U.S. strategy in Afghanistan fostered a political climate conducive to corruption,” Sopko said. This environment stemmed from aid funds being poured into the Afghan government faster than it could absorb them. There was too little subsequent oversight of how the funds were spent, he said.
Additionally, the U.S never formed a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy, a fact Sopko has repeatedly warned about, including twice since 2010. His staff has also issued multiple reports in recent years detailing billions of U.S. tax dollars lost to waste, fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.
The U.S. also disregarded Afghanistan’s inability to sustain reconstruction programs due to the country’s financial, technical and managerial limitations, according to Sopko.
For example, the Afghan National Security Forces, for whom the U.S. had allocated more than $61 billion as of September 30, 2014, is to be financed solely by the Afghanistan government by 2024. However, based on the growth of Afghanistan’s economy, the country will be unable to fund its military by the deadline. Additionally, the security environment will likely deteriorate, according to the Sopko report and congressional testimony by the top commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford.
Further, despite the $7.8 billion U.S. investment to counter the narcotics trade in the country, Afghanistan “still leads the world in opium production,” according to the report. Additionally, Afghan opium and its derivatives were estimated at $3 billion in 2103 — a $1 billion increase from the previous year.
“The latest U.S. strategy documents indicate that combating narcotics in Afghanistan is no longer a top priority,” Sopko said.
