Govt hidden details of collapse of US-backed Govt in Afghanistan: watchdog

Washington: A strongly worded criticism of the American government has emerged from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), one of its top government watchdog organisations, which accused the government of attempting to cover up key details of the collapse of the US-backed government in Afghanistan and the subsequent Taliban takeover.

"The full picture of what happened in August - and all the warning signs that could have predicted the outcome - will only be revealed if the information that the departments of Defense and State have already restricted from public release is made available," said John Sopko. Sopko alleged that key details were not being made available to the public and lawmakers at the behest of the government and the Pentagon.

The US State Department issued a clarification via a spokesperson that certain names, places and details had been redacted in order to protect the identities of Afghan allies and Afghan partner organisations due to security concerns during the evacuation effort. The information could be restored if SiGAR was willing the department said.

SIGAR has been publishing detailed reports on the spending and infrastructure of America in Afghanistan for over ten years. The 2019 Washington Post report that was called "The Afghanistan Papers" was published after taking SIGAR to court under the Freedom of Information Act to get a hold of classified information. The documents showed extensive evidence that there was dissent within the US military brass regarding the scope and prospects of the war in Afghanistan even as the US government projected a more positive outlook.