Afghan Collapse Follows Expensive, Mistake-Riddled US Reconstruction Effort: Watchdog

A U.S. Marine looks on as Afghan National Army soldiers raise the Afghan National flag on an armed vehicle during a training exercise at the Shorab Military Camp in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2017. Wakil/Koshar/AFP via Getty Images

The collapse of the Afghan government followed a mistake-riddled U.S. mission to reconstruct the country after invading in 2001 shortly after 9/11, a watchdog said Tuesday.

“If the goal was to rebuild and leave behind a country that can sustain itself and pose little threat to U.S. national security interests, the overall picture is bleak,” John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), wrote in the 140-page report (pdf).