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US Reportedly Lost $19 Billion To Fraud, Abuse in Afghanistan

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - The United States has lost $19 billion in Afghanistan since
   2002 due to "waste, fraud and abuse," the Special Inspector General for
   Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a new report released
   Tuesday.

   SIGAR monitors all U.S. spending in the 19-year war in Afghanistan,
   America's longest.

   The American oversight authority noted that the U.S. Congress has
   appropriated nearly $134 billion for Afghan reconstruction programs
   since the ouster of the Taliban in late 2001.

   "Of that amount, SIGAR reviewed approximately $63 billion and concluded
   that a total of approximately $19 billion, or 30% of the amount
   reviewed, was lost to waste, fraud, and abuse," the report said.

   SIGAR's audit identified approximately $1.8 billion in waste, fraud and
   abuse between January 2018 and December 2019.

   The oversight office is tasked with reviewing reconstruction funding
   and presenting recommendations for putting the money to better use for
   other programs or efforts in the tumultuous South Asian nation.

   SIGAR's latest report comes as President Donald Trump's administration
   presses the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents to negotiate a
   political settlement to permanently end the long conflict. The Afghan
   rivals are currently engaged in direct peace talks in Doha, Qatar.

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