The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released its final report on Thursday, compiling a 125-page autopsy of America’s 20-year, $2.3 trillion failure in Afghanistan. The assessment was sobering, concluding that $145 billion spent on reconstruction efforts exceeded the inflation-adjusted cost of the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II.
One of the most damning findings came from SIGAR’s estimate that over 20% of all reconstruction spending — roughly $29 billion — was lost to waste, misuse, and outright fraud. This included more than $500 million spent on so-called “ghost soldiers,” where Afghan officials collected salaries for troops who only existed on paper, illustrating the scale of systemic corruption that persisted throughout the conflict.
The report also found that post-withdrawal humanitarian aid suffered similar abuse. After the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, when the mission shifted from military support to humanitarian assistance, SIGAR estimated that of the $3.5 billion spent from late 2021 to mid-2025, more than $540 million was lost to waste and fraud before the Trump administration halted all aid to Afghanistan in June.
The report also highlighted how only one twelfth of funding went to humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, while the vast majority of the money went to government agencies and the security structures built around the Afghan military.
While the report provides a final accounting of two decades of failed spending, it also serves as a broader warning for Washington’s future foreign policy and nation-building efforts. The U.S. spent nearly $80 billion building an Afghan army that collapsed in a matter of weeks, leaving behind more than $7 billion in military equipment now in the hands of the Taliban. Critics say the report’s findings are especially timely as the U.S. escalates efforts to oust Venezuela’s government, warning that an intervention there could trap Washington in another costly quagmire involving occupation, corruption, and endless funding to prop up a fragile state.