A final inspector general report concludes that billions in American arms, vehicles, and aircraft abandoned during the 2021 withdrawal now sustain the Taliban’s security forces.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The U.S. watchdog overseeing reconstruction in Afghanistan has issued a sweeping final report revealing that billions of dollars in American military hardware left behind during the 2021 withdrawal now constitute the “core” of the Taliban’s armed forces. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said U.S.-supplied weapons, vehicles, and facilities have become the foundation of Taliban security operations four years after the chaotic evacuation ordered by President Joe Biden.
Sigar Final Report by yourNEWS Media
According to Just the News, the Pentagon has acknowledged that at least $7.1 billion worth of weaponry—including rifles, combat vehicles, aircraft, and night-vision equipment—was left behind when Afghan forces collapsed. The report found the U.S. continued to send billions in aid to Afghanistan even after the Taliban takeover.
Acting Inspector General Gene Aloise wrote that “despite nearly $90 billion in U.S. appropriations for security-sector assistance, Afghan security forces ultimately collapsed quickly without a sustained U.S. military presence.” The report describes two decades of reconstruction marked by “systemic waste” and failed oversight, concluding that the effort “promised to bring stability and democracy to Afghanistan, yet ultimately delivered neither.”
SIGAR’s findings show that between 2002 and 2021, Washington spent roughly $144.7 billion on reconstruction, with another $763 billion devoted to combat operations. Of that, nearly $80.7 billion went to the Afghan Security Forces Fund—money used to equip, train, and pay the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). U.S. records show more than 427,000 weapons, 96,000 ground vehicles, and 162 aircraft were supplied to Afghan troops before their rapid disintegration in August 2021.
The report concluded that U.S.-trained forces failed because they were designed as a “mirror image” of the American military—dependent on advanced logistics, technology, and air support that disappeared once U.S. troops left. The resulting collapse handed billions of dollars’ worth of equipment to the Taliban.
The Pentagon’s own inspector general confirmed in 2022 that the U.S. military left behind $7.12 billion in arms, vehicles, and aircraft, including over 316,000 weapons and $923 million in aircraft. Former CENTCOM commander Gen. Frank McKenzie later estimated the total loss at about $18 billion, writing that the Taliban gained control of “thousands of weapons” and over 12,000 Humvees.
The Taliban quickly consolidated these assets into a functioning military. A 2024 United Nations report said the group operated 60 aircraft, up from 40 the previous year, and successfully conducted multiple operations using U.S.-supplied Mi-17 transport and MD-500 attack helicopters. Taliban officials have since claimed a combined force of more than 380,000 personnel in their new army and police ranks.
The SIGAR audit also revealed that U.S. humanitarian funds continued flowing into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Since the 2021 withdrawal, the U.S. has disbursed $3.83 billion in assistance, even paying at least $10.9 million in taxes to Taliban ministries through international aid programs. Congress is now advancing the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act to prevent such transfers, which passed the House earlier this year.
The inspector general’s office, set to close in January 2026, described Afghanistan as a “graveyard of American aid,” concluding that the collapse “laid bare the fragility that had been concealed by years of confident assertions of progress.”
As Aloise wrote, “The United States invested billions of dollars and incurred thousands of casualties in a mission that promised to bring stability and democracy to Afghanistan—yet ultimately delivered neither.”
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