SIGAR Report On Afghanistan

August 3, 2012

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2008 established the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). The SIGAR recently released their report on the state of ongoing U.S. reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. The report is less than optimistic about U.S. efforts to create a stable, functioning political infrastructure before U.S. troops are scheduled to leave:

As this report to Congress illustrates, a decade of struggle and bloodshed—and more than $89 billion of U.S. appropriations for Afghan reconstruction—has not cleared the landscape of serious problems…

Some examples:

• A significant portion of the U.S. government’s $400 million investment in large-scale infrastructure projects in fiscal year 2011 may be wasted, due to weaknesses in planning, coordination, and execution, raising sustainability concerns and risking adverse counter-insurgency effects.

• Security costs at reconstruction sites are likely to increase as a result of the mandated transition from private security companies to the state-owned Afghan Public Protection Force.

• USAID contracts to promote district-level stabilization in eastern Afghanistan are making slow progress, have high operating costs, and lack a country-wide exit strategy.

This one in particular is eye-brow raising:

• The U.S. Army accepted contract construction that is so poor it prevents some multimillion-dollar border police bases from being used as intended. One base is unoccupied because it has no viable water supply. Other deficiencies included leaking fuel lines, unconnected drain pipes, poorly built guard towers, and improperly installed heating and ventilation systems.

Read the rest of the report here. (h/t thepoliticalnotebook)

See Also: Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) Report: “Violence Rising Amid Political Turmoil.”

11:08am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZMMjnxQgVw_m

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