Taliban strongest since US invasion of Afghanistan

More than 14 years into the US invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban terrorist group is stronger than ever, says a US government watchdog.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) made the announcement in its quarterly report to Congress that was published Friday, noting that the terrorist group controls more of the country than at any time since US troops invaded it in 2001.

The grim report added that Afghanistan's already fragile economy is deteriorating and some aspects of the troubled reconstruction efforts, like getting more girls to school, have been tainted with allegations of fraud.

"The lack of security has made it almost impossible for many US and even some Afghan officials to get out to manage and inspect US-funded reconstruction projects," John Sopko, the inspector general, wrote in the report.

Washington has reportedly spent more than $113 billion on Afghan reconstruction, a figure that in terms of constant dollars surpasses what the US spent rebuilding Western Europe after World War II under the Marshall Plan.

Meanwhile, many critics view the Afghan civilian aid effort as a wasteful failure. Sopko’s examination of a fraction of the spending uncovered $17 billion in questioned costs in just three years.

The report also found that the Western-backed Afghan government is paying for numerous nonexistent "ghost" schools, "ghost" teachers, and "ghost" students, a scandal that calls into question American claims about overhauling Afghanistan's education system.

Last week, Sopko accused the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) of “poorly planned and ill-conceived projects" in Afghanistan.

TFBSO, a division of the Pentagon established in 2006 to “stabilize” the post-invasion Afghan and Iraqi economy, has spent some $800 million on development projects over a five-year period.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

Despite a previous pledge to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by the end of his presidency, Obama has announced plans to keep 5,500 of the troops in the country when he leaves office in 2017.

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