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POGO – Watchdog Scrutinizes Pentagon Spending in Afghanistan

POGO – “Part of something is better than all of nothing. Keep this proverb in mind while reading the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) top-level analysis of Department of Defense (DoD) reconstruction spending in Afghanistan. Between FY 2002 and FY 2014, Congress appropriated $104 billion for Afghanistan reconstruction, 80 percent of which is disbursed by three agencies: DoD, the State Department, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Last year, SIGAR reported on State and USAID’s disbursement of $4 billion and $13.3 billion, respectively. Yesterday, we finally got a fiscal picture of DoD, by far the largest of the reconstruction agencies with $66 billion in appropriated funds. Unfortunately, we only got part of the picture. DoD provided SIGAR agency-wide data covering only $21 billion in contracts awarded between FY 2002 and May 2014. About 83 percent of that was spent training and equipping the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Recent trends showing a regression in the strength and capabilities of Afghanistan’s security forces, however, are causing concern about the soundness of that investment.”

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