Chaotic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan left behind huge haul of American taxpayer-funded weapons
A government watchdog report found that billions of dollars worth of US taxpayer-funded weapons and equipment were left behind in Afghanistan after the 2021 troop withdrawal.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) was tasked with overseeing rebuilding efforts in the war torn country in 2008.
It has performed audits, made recommendations, and worked to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, according to its website. But with its doors closing in the new year, SIGAR has delivered its last report.
The 137-page document revealed the extent of the American government’s involvement in Afghanistan over a 20-year period, including a shocking amount of taxpayer dollars.
Investigations concluded that the US left $7.1 billion in equipment, weapons, and facilities in the country when the Taliban seized the government in 2021.
The Department of Defense was unable to inspect or destroy any of the equipment, leading SIGAR to suggest that it is now under Taliban control.
‘These US taxpayer-funded equipment, weapons, and facilities have formed the core of the Taliban security apparatus,’ the report read.
Following the Afghan government’s collapse, US taxpayer dollars had paid for the equipment on behalf of the Afghan National Defense and Security forces.
A recent report suggested that the US government abandoned billions in taxpayer funded weapons and equipment in Afghanistan
The US Military withdrew from the war-torn country in 2021
Over their 20 years in Afghanistan, the US government allocated $144 billion toward the country
The Taliban is also reportedly benefiting from $7.4 billion in infrastructure including powerlines, roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals, much of which had fallen into disrepair or was not being used for its intended purpose.
Millions of dollars were left sitting in Afghan government accounts when the Taliban took over in 2021.
‘The United States was unable to recover these funds and SIGAR determined that it is likely that the Taliban were able to access at least a portion of this money when they took over Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance,’ read the report.
SIGAR’s findings also suggested that that Afghan National Defense and Security forces has become reliant on the US military.
The military’s sudden withdrawal ‘destroyed the morale of Afghan soldiers and police.’
Gene Aloise, the acting inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, explained that Congress provided $144.7 billion between 2002 and 2021.
‘The mission promised to bring stability and democracy to Afghanistan, yet ultimately delivered neither,’ he wrote in a letter attached to the document.
Aloise said that the US’s failure to ‘transform a war-torn, underdeveloped country into a stable and prosperous democracy’ could be chalked up to several factors.
The new report suggested that the US military’s sudden departure left the country in chaos
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, prompting the US’s exit
‘For example, early and ongoing US decisions to ally with corrupt, human-rights-abusing powerbrokers bolstered the insurgency and undermined the mission, including US goals for bringing democracy and good governance to Afghanistan,’ he wrote.
‘Efforts to improve Afghanistan’s economic and social conditions also failed to have a lasting impact.’
The US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan ended in August 2021.
Even after the military’s withdrawal, the US government continued to be the Taliban ruled country’s largest donor, with disbursements totaling $120 million in March 2025 alone.
The withdrawal was prompted by an agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban in 2020.
The process was initiated by Joe Biden the following year.
