"After 17 years of US involvement in Afghanistan and security-related US appropriations totalling $83.3 billion, there is not one person, agency, country, or military service that has had sole responsibility for overseeing security sector assistance," Sopko said.
In the latest Inspector General’s report, Sopko found that responsibility for administering aid remained chaotically and confusingly divided among the multiple US and international entities.
"SIGAR found that US decision-making concerning the provision of military equipment and training has proven shortsighted… The United States has provided equipment to the ANDSF [Afghan National Defense Security Forces] without adequate training and sustainment," the report said.
The US military commander in Afghanistan also serves as NATO force chief, but he has no direct authority over civilians working in embassies and other international bodies and lacks the authority to control the methods and activities used by other NATO forces in the country, the report said.
"Further, the frequent turnover of US personnel meant that any long-term, comprehensive plans for equipping the ANDSF existed only on paper," the report said.
The report illustrated "the disjointed matrix of activities" that the United States undertook in its efforts to develop the Afghan security forces and related ministries, Sopko added.
On 28 July at least twenty Taliban militants were killed in US-led airstrikes in the central Ghazni province. The operation came at a time when a new round of peace talks between the US and Taliban was scheduled to take place. The US has been trying to achieve a deal with the Taliban in order to withdraw US troops from the country in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan is not used as a safe haven for terrorists.
