The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIG) announced in his new report that the 22-year efforts of the United States to transform Afghanistan into a stable and self-sufficient democratic country have resulted in complete failure.
According to this report, the United States spent about $144.7 billion on the reconstruction of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2021, but more than 1,300 cases of abuse, corruption, and waste of financial resources were identified, and most of this money was not spent effectively.
Cost details
$88.8 billion, security sector, largest share
$35.9 billion in development and reconstruction
– $7.1 billion in humanitarian aid (the lowest share)
– $16.3 billion in administrative costs. Seager emphasized that the peak of aid was in 2010 at $16.3 billion, and that the organization has published 900 research reports during its activity and has managed to save $2.51 billion for the US government.
Despite the halt in reconstruction aid after the 2021 defeat, the United States remains the largest humanitarian donor to Afghanistan, providing about $3.5 billion from October 2021 to June 2025, 72 percent of which was spent on humanitarian aid.
The Seager report concludes that Washington’s main goals in Afghanistan, including the creation of democratic institutions, an effective military, and a stable economy, have not been achieved, and billions of dollars in investment have been effectively wasted.
