The $90 Billion Question

Why did the Afghan National Army collapse almost instantly, despite nearly two decades of training and $90 billion in cash from the American people?

Failure has a thousand authors. A cursory reading of the latest report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has led people to conclude that the full collapse of Afghanistan into the hands of the Taliban is the fault of Donald Trump, with a little assistance from Joe Biden. This is the independent reporting body empowered by Congress to get the story straight. Foreign Policy summed up the top-line finding: “Former President Donald Trump’s bilateral deal with the Taliban, and President Joe Biden’s decision to stick to it, caused the disintegration of Afghanistan’s security forces.”