SIGAR Final Report: US Failed in Afghanistan Despite Spending $145B

DID Press: Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in its final report that the US 22-year effort to build a democratic and stable Afghanistan has ended in failure. This comes despite the allocation of approximately $144.7 billion for Afghanistan’s reconstruction between 2002 and 2021.

According to SIGAR, more than 1,300 cases of misuse, fraud, and waste prevented proper spending of these funds. Since beginning its work in 2009, the oversight body has released 900 investigative reports.

At the peak of U.S. assistance in 2010, spending reached its highest level at $16.3 billion, most of which was directed toward the security sector, with the smallest portion allocated to humanitarian needs. The report details the breakdown of U.S. expenditures as follows:

$88.8 billion for security

$35.9 billion for development

$7.1 billion for humanitarian assistance

$16.3 billion for institutional costs

Despite the official end of U.S. aid to Afghanistan in 2025, SIGAR emphasized that the US has remained the largest humanitarian donor to Afghanistan since 2021. From October 2021 to June 2025, the U.S. provided $3.5 billion in assistance, 72% of which was humanitarian.

SIGAR identified $541 million of U.S. aid as “questionable” and reported that its audits and investigations have prevented $2.51 billion in potential waste.