SIGAR to cease operations after two decades of oversight in Afghanistan

KABUL: The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which investigated corruption and financial waste associated with the two-decade U.S. presence in Afghanistan, has announced that it will cease operations by the end of January 2026. Established by the U.S. Congress in 2008, SIGAR reviewed over $148 billion spent on Afghanistan’s reconstruction projects. Its final report in December 2025 revealed that the U.S. had invested more in creating a democratic Afghanistan than was spent on rebuilding Europe after World War II. SIGAR noted that approximately $7.1 billion worth of military equipment and weapons were left behind and fell into the hands of the Taliban when U.S. forces withdrew in 2021. Additionally, around $24 billion in infrastructure investments have been lost. The SIGAR website has also gone offline, with its archived version stored in a “cyber cemetery” at the University of North Texas.