Watchdog reports presaged Afghan collapse, no one listened

The sudden collapse of the Afghan government and army drew me back to years of oversight conducted by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), Mr. John Sopko.

SIGAR’s reports were aggressive and hard-hitting. They exposed evidence of weak security, “systemic” corruption, and waste. These core problems were allowed to eat away at the foundation of our commitment. When our leadership was unable to turn the ship around, SIGAR signaled: Our mission was failing.

SIGAR’s “Lessons Learned [sigar.mil]” reports indicate that security against the Taliban threat was the key to success. Based on assessments of the army’s readiness, SIGAR concluded security was “never” achieved. The Afghan army lacked the capability to independently defend the country. Without security, the questionable policy of nation-building was not doable. When coupled with “systemic corruption,” which SIGAR characterized as an “existential threat … that eroded army readiness,” survival of the government and army was in doubt.

Within days of the president’s announced pullout date, the Afghan army “simply melted away,” as one senior officer put it. “Kabul was taken with a couple of hundred guys on motorcycles and there wasn’t a shot fired.”

As the final scene of the tragedy unfolded at Kabul airport, President Biden and others placed blame squarely on Afghanistan’s shoulders. But that’s not the whole truth. SIGAR’s reports depict the U.S. as the chief architect and financier of the structure that collapsed.

Though harmful to national security, SIGAR’s advice fell on deaf ears. SIGAR was like a lone wolf howling in the wilderness. To learn from this experience, we need to look in the mirror.

Afghanistan’s collapse underscores the merits of SIGAR’s work. It was created to watchdog the huge sums of money pouring into Afghan coffers. Mr. Sopko did his job well, documenting egregious waste and blatant corruption on both sides.

SIGAR recently provided a classic case of waste and corruption that is symptomatic of the rot that derailed our efforts in Afghanistan. Twenty refurbished Italian G222 aircraft were purchased for $549 million. They were needed but without logistics support were inoperable and literally thrown on the junk heap because of crooked mismanagement on our side. The Air Force general, who managed the program on active duty and then as vice president for the company selling the aircraft, allegedly violated criminal conflict-of-interest statutes [nbcnews.com]. SIGAR recommended criminal charges, but the Department of Justice refused to prosecute. A half-billion taxpayer dollars went up in smoke with zero accountability.

The squandering on the G222 project was matched by others like the 64,000 square foot “surge” command center [pogo.org] built for $34 million but never needed and never occupied. The G222 was just another notch in Uncle Sam’s belt of wasteful spending.

With minimal accountability, it was easy for crooks to line their pockets. Thankfully, SIGAR’s investigations netted 160 criminal convictions [sigar.mil]. Corruption was found on both sides. The convicted included 42 Afghans, 58 U.S. military personnel, 49 U.S. contractors, and 11 U.S. government personnel and citizens.

Unfortunately, while SIGAR’s finger was stuck in the dike, Uncle Sam kept the money spigot wide open. Some estimate that over two trillion dollars [apnews.com] flowed through that pipe to a government and Army known by SIGAR to be riddled with “systemic corruption.” We tolerated it and kept the money flowing.

What happened in Afghanistan boils down to a failure to follow fundamental principles of good government. Oversight is crucial to accountability.

Congress needs to know why SIGAR’s warning signals were ignored. With the troop pull-out decision made in early 2020, there was ample time to prepare for evacuation. So why did the president make such a panicked and haphazard exit? Did the military fail to develop an exit plan, as Secretary Antony Blinken alleged? If true, who is responsible? Why was waste and corruption tolerated? All the unexpended money in the Afghan pipeline needs to be identified and returned to the Treasury or reallocated. Allegations that high officials fled with huge sums of U.S. dollars in cash needs investigation. This apparent bank robbery was more proof of “systemic” corruption that was the country’s undoing.

The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act instructs SIGAR to review these and other unresolved issues. I will offer an amendment to adopt those measures.

An autopsy might help us avoid the same mistakes in the future. As painful as it may be, we must never give up trying to learn from past mistakes. Without some soul-searching, America risks further humiliations like we have just witnessed, which will only embolden our adversaries.

Sen. Chuck Grassley is the senior senator from Iowa and the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate.