Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, appointed by President Obama in 2012
PROFILE
John Sopko
Guest
FROM John Sopko
To the Point
Americans Have Paid for "Ghost Schools" in Afghanistan After 13 years in Afghanistan, and the loss of 2000 American lives, victories have been hard to come by. So US officials, including Hillary Clinton, when she was Secretary of State, have claimed that educating Afghan children has been a one-billion dollar success story. But that claim does not stand up to scrutiny.After visiting school sites, consulting databases and documents and speaking to 150 people, a Buzzfeed News investigation has found massive exaggeration, "riddled with ghost schools, teachers and students that exist only on paper." We hear more about the boondoggle from investigative reporter Azmat Khan, who wrote the story, and John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, an independent agency created by Congress. Photo: Staff Sgt. Marcus J. Quarterman/US Army
To the Point
John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction The US has made a major commitment to help rebuild Afghanistan after more than a decade of warfare. That means billions of future taxpayer dollars, in addition to the $103 billion already spent. Fraud, corruption and waste are so prevalent, that the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has no less than 340 ongoing investigations . In the past two years. SIGAR John Sopko has scored 42 convictions and saved $256 million -- and that's just the beginning.
To the Point
US Aid to Afghanistan Flows Despite Warnings of Misuse More than a billion dollars in US aid will flow to the government of Afghanistan in this year alone, despite years of warnings about corruption. Today, the Inspector General, created by Congress and appointed by President Obama, reported that not one of that country's 16 ministries can be counted on to prevent money from being stolen or wasted. John Sopko is Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction .
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