Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

State Dept, Pentagon are concealing Afghanistan data, says U.S. watchdog

Published 29/10/2021, 22:27
Updated 30/10/2021, 00:20
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Taliban members in charge of security, patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Taliban members in charge of security, patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. government watchdog on Friday accused the State Department and Pentagon of suppressing information that lawmakers and the public need to understand the collapse of Afghanistan's former government and military and the chaotic U.S. troop pullout.

"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, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR).

A State Department spokesperson said the department had requested "some reports be temporarily removed to redact identifying information from public records and protect the identities of Afghans and Afghan partner organizations" due to security concerns about the evacuation effort.

"The identifying information are the only details intended to be shielded," the spokesperson said, adding that SIGAR has the authority to restore the reports.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Addressing reporters, Sopko said that after the Taliban seized Kabul, the State Department asked him to temporarily suspend online access to certain reports he issued to ensure the safety of U.S.-affiliated Afghans.

The department "was never able to describe any specific threats to individuals that were supposedly contained in our reports," said Sopko, who added he "reluctantly" barred access to the documents.

The State Department, he continued, recently sought redactions of some 2,400 items remaining on SIGAR's website.

Some requests were "bizarre," such as excising former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's name from reports, Sopko said.

After a review, his agency found only four items meriting redaction, and left the remainder accessible.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Taliban members in charge of security, patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Noting that Congress tasked him with investigating the collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government and military, he said the Pentagon has since 2015 barred from public release a range of data purportedly at the former Ghani government's request.

Most of that information, including casualty data and unit strengths, was "all you needed to know to determine whether the Afghan security forces were a real fighting force or a house of cards," he said.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.