The Man Who Keeps Tabs On U.S. Money Spent In Afghanistan - NPR

John Sopko, the man whose job is to watch over U.S. government spending in Afghanistan, says it's not his job to be a cheerleader — it's to speak truth to power.
"I am often the bringer of bad news to people. Or at least that's what some people think," he says.

Addressing a crowd of Afghanistan analysts and contractors in Washington, Sopko says he's had just one objective since President Obama appointed him three years ago to be the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction:
"To seek facts and aggressively protect the U.S. taxpayer's enormous investment in Afghanistan."

Congress is voting this week on more funding for Afghanistan's security forces and that raises the question of how well they are performing in their fight against the Taliban.

After U.S. forces pulled out of Iraq, the self-styled Islamic State fighters moved in and Iraq's security forces all but collapsed. Those watching Afghanistan warn the same could happen there unless the U.S. keeps a small force and carries on with its work to build up the Afghan troops.

In addition to all the American money spent fighting in Afghanistan, the U.S. has spent $110 billion for the country's reconstruction, with the largest portion — more than $60 billion — going to build the Afghan security forces, known collectively as the ANDSF.

Even when adjusted for inflation, that $110 billion is more than the U.S. contributed to the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II. - Read More

The Man Who Keeps Tabs On U.S. Money Spent In Afghanistan

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