Inspector General: US Funded $132 Billion in Afghanistan Development Since 2002

Another $5 billion could be required for political settlement

The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has put out a new report estimating how much the US has spent on Afghanistan economic development since 2002, estimating it at $132 billion.

The $132 billion included $82.5 billion for security, $34.5 billion for government, and other assorted money for humanitarian aid and civilian operations. SIGAR added that another $5.2 billion would be required if a political settlement was reached.

18 years into the US war in Afghanistan, a settlement was to be had just weeks ago, only for President Trump to scrap the deal and announce that the war would continue. Though this saves the $5.2 billion in the near-term, it’s going to add to general annual costs indefinitely as the war shows no sign of ending any other way.

And even whn it ultimately ends, the US is still presumably going to consider itself on the hook for funding the settlement, so that’s just an expense deferred until later in the seemingly endless war.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.