The Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released its quarterly oversight report Thursday that examines the US’s failed effort at nation-building in Afghanistan. Speaking to reporters, SIGAR chief John Sopko warned that the US government hasn’t learned its lesson from the almost 20-year war.
SIGAR was formed in 2008, and Sopko became the inspector general in 2012. He said the Thursday report tells the same story the watchdog has been telling for years. “You know, you really shouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been reading our reports for at least the nine years … that I’ve been there,” he said. “We’ve been highlighting problems with our train, advise, and assist mission with the Afghan military.”
Sopko said US military leaders were always shifting goalposts about what the mission in Afghanistan was when faced with SIGAR’s bleak assessments. “Every time we took a look at the assessment tools, our US military would change the goalposts and say, ‘Oh no, no, that’s not the test you want to do,'” he said.
The Pentagon is still not heeding SIGAR’s warnings. After the withdrawal, the US will still provide the Afghan military with funding even though assessments from SIGAR say it cannot be maintained. SIGAR predicted back in March that the Afghan Air Force would not be able to stand on its own since so many of its aircraft are entirely reliant on maintenance from Pentagon contractors.
The collapse of the Afghan Air Force has already started since the US has pulled out the bulk of its troops and contractors. On July 23rd, an Afghan lawmaker said one-third of the fleet of about 160 aircraft is inoperable due to a spare parts shortage or the departure of Pentagon contractors. SIGAR’s Thursday report detailed the steep decline in the combat readiness of Afghanistan’s warplanes and helicopters.
Despite SIGAR’s warnings and the reality on the ground, the US is still planning to thrown billions at the Afghan government. For 2022, the Pentagon has set aside $3.3 billion for the Afghan military.
Sopko cited Vietnam as an example of how Washington hasn’t learned its lesson from failed wars. “Don’t believe what you’re told by the generals or the ambassadors or people in the administration saying we’re never going to do this again,” he said. “That’s exactly what we said after Vietnam: we’re never going to do this again. Lo and behold, we did Iraq. And we did Afghanistan. We will do this again.”
We will never get out of that hell hole.
The USA helped to make it a hellhole, as it has done for so many other “sovereign nations”.
IF Afghanistan IS a hell hole, it is because of the American invasion. I was there in the 70s and it was no hell hole then, but a somewhat poor country very hard working, with stark landscapes, and far more honest than most of its neighbors. Pastune Wala makes it so.
Pretty hard to learn a lesson when you are paid for not learning that lesson.
Indeed. When the point of the exercise was to justify spending money, then pointing out that the money was spent to no purpose is pointless. What WILL stop us is what stopped Rome and the Britts and all other empires previously: running out of money to spend.
Don’t be naive, the World’s greatest Meddler and War monger, the USA, will never change.
Americans just LOVE fighting WARS !!
We must be thankful that the US is leaving a SIGAR to supervise the Chinese who had been left the task of reconstruction.
Skimming through the report. Found this:
“In 2015, USAID and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) entered
a $16 million partnership named ‘Strengthening Peace Building, Conflict
Resolution, and Governance in Afghanistan.’ This partnership was modified in October 2019 to support new activities for the peace process. According to USIP, many Afghans doubt America’s commitment to ensuring a sustainable peace. To inspire local peace activities and demonstrate how average Afghan citizens can promote peace at the grassroots level as a complement to top‐down peace efforts, USIP commissioned a documentary on the People’s Peace Movement (PPM). The now finalized film will be submitted to a few international film festivals.
“PPM began in March 2018 as a series of sit-ins and a hunger strike in
Helmand Province that eventually led to 70 marchers demanding that both
the Afghan government and Taliban implement a ceasefire. According to
USIP reporting from 2018, the movement garnered significant international and domestic Afghan attention. USIP’s current documentary effort
is meant to ‘revive the PPM story’ and change the peace discourse at
the grassroots.”
Just to be clear, both USAID AND USIP are entities funded entirely by the US government. The “partnership” here is not between the government and some sort of independent “peace” organization. The so called PPM itself, allegedly an Afghan organization, I don’t think it would shock anyone, anywhere, is accused of being funded by the USA as well. US government money, coming and going, in various, nebulous “partnerships” with independ-ish sounding organizations, paying for a phony “peace” movement in Afghanistan.
Everyone, in theory, wants “peace.” The issue isn’t “peace,” it is who shall govern in Afghanistan. “Peace,” in the short term, favors the US puppet regime. Duh. So, let’s make a “documentary” film about it.
Also, I find the stuff about the “70 marchers,” (as if that’s a large number?!), and that the USIP “reports” that somebody, somewhere, paid “signficant attention” to this tepid protest, and that the USIP was trying to “revive” the “story” about this Earth shattering event led by this clearly imposing organization, to all be pretty telling.
As the saying goes, re Vietnam via Apocalypse Now:
“The bullshit piled up so fast that you need water wings to stay above it!”
I wonder if the USIP would sponsor a “documentary film” about hunger strikers, marchers, anti militarists, pacifists, “peace” activists, etc, etc, in the USA? And present it at international film festivals?
During the Cold War, the US used to mock the Soviet and East Bloc “antiwar” movement, saying that they opposed not war, but only the war and militarism of the regimes their governments considered to be enemies. Now (and perhaps then too), the US government does just that. With its fake, one sided “peace” and “democracy” and “human rights” organizations, funded by the US government, and slavishly doing its bidding. Just as much, if not more so, than any fake Soviet “no nuke” organization circa 1980.
More Sad but True to chew upon.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the flowers gone?
The girls have picked them every one.
Oh, When will you ever learn?
Oh, When will you ever learn?
Young girls
They’ve taken husbands every one.
Young men
They’re all in uniform.
Soldiers
They’ve gone to graveyards every one.
Graveyards
They’re covered with flowers every one.
Flowers
Young girls have picked them every one.
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Peter Seeger