Watchdog describes litany of US failures in Afghanistan mission

Special inspector general says United States officials failed to ‘implement a coherent strategy’ over 20 years in Afghanistan.

The United States “struggled to develop and implement a coherent strategy” in Afghanistan and the overall picture there is “bleak”, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report (PDF) released on Tuesday. John Sopko, the special inspector general, wrote that any gains “in life expectancy, the mortality of children under five, GDP [gross domestic product] per capita, and literacy rates” during the years-long US mission were not “commensurate with the U.S. investment or sustainable after a U.S. drawdown”. After 20 years and $2 trillion spent, President Joe Biden is withdrawing all US troops by August 31.