ISLAMABAD Aug 26 (APP): Special Inspector Gneral for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in its reports over the years assessed that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) were ill prepared to put up a fight against the Taliban forces, according to Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI).
SIGAR was created to provide independent and objective oversight of Afghanistan reconstruction projects and activities,
Here is the time of the deficiencies reported by SIGAR over the past 5 years, that help identify how the Afghan National Army collapsed.
According to the timeline, in April 2016, SIGAR identified instances of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) spending inefficiently or squandering on activities of no benefit while in October 2016 SIGAR recommended to identify “ghost” soldiers and police and asked for their removal from ANDSF payrolls.
In January 2017, US Department of Defence reported the inability of ANDSF leaders across the force to effectively command and control operations while in the same month it expressed concern over incapability and corruption of the security forces.
In April 2017, SIGAR stated that ANDSF over relies on highly trained special forces even for routine missions. In April 2019 SIGAR noted that the security forces were vulnerable to enemy attacks and less able to provide security to the Afghan population. In October 2019, SIGAR raised concern that inaccurate and unreliable personnel data for the ANDSF put US taxpayer dollars at risk. In July 2020, the audit reports identified over $ nine million as a result of internal control deficiencies and non compliance issues. The performance report examined the Department of Defence’s lack of oversight and performance assessments for its $ 174 million ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System program. In August 2021, SIGAR observed that the United States government continuously struggled to develop and implement a coherent strategy for what it hoped to achieve. The US government did not understand the Afghan context and therefore failed to tailor its efforts accordingly. The attack of Afghan security forces on US forces also remained a problem.