No Priors AI Watchdog Details $30B Waste in Afghanistan Reconstruction
Dec 4, 2025
A new watchdog report reveals that nearly $30 billion of U.S. reconstruction spending in Afghanistan was wasted. Poor planning and oversight led to unusable infrastructure and collapsed security forces. Multibillion-dollar counter-narcotics efforts failed to curb opium production, and an unrealistic strategy aimed to rapidly modernize the nation. The report warns future interventions must prioritize realistic goals, accountability, and local understanding to avoid repeating past mistakes.
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Scale Of Financial Losses
- The U.S. spent about $145 billion on Afghanistan reconstruction and watchdogs now say nearly $30 billion was wasted.
- The failures reveal that massive spending without sustainable planning produces temporary gains that quickly evaporate.
Widespread Waste And Failed Projects
- Investigators documented more than a thousand incidents of waste, fraud, and mismanagement across most spending categories.
- Billions flowed into infrastructure and services that often produced no lasting results or collapsed before completion.
Infrastructure Lacked Local Sustainment
- Much infrastructure was unusable because Afghanistan lacked the staffing and supply systems to maintain it.
- Power plants, roads, clinics, bases, and schools were left abandoned or deteriorated without local capacity.