Under the Lead Inspector General framework, the Inspectors General for the Department of Defense, Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development conduct oversight of and report on the overseas contingency operation "Operation Freedom's Sentinel."
This report also discusses the planned, ongoing, and completed oversight work conducted by the Lead IG agencies and our partner oversight agencies during the quarter. This quarter, the Lead IG agencies issued seven audit, inspection, and evaluation reports related to OFS.
During this reporting period, the Taliban dealt a decisive military and political defeat to the Afghan government as the United States completed its withdrawal from the country. Over a period of 10 days, the Taliban captured the capital city of Kabul and all but one provincial capital through a combination of military offensives and negotiated surrenders with Afghan regional leaders. Once the collapse of the Afghan government became imminent, U.S. military forces reoriented their mission in Afghanistan to focus on the evacuation of noncombatants which include U.S. Embassy staff, allied personnel, Afghan nationals who supported the U.S. Government, and their families.
After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, several worrying trends related to women's rights, food security, access to money, and availability of healthcare continued to get worse. During the reporting period, USAID paused most of their development programming; however, humanitarian assistance targeting food security and other priority humanitarian areas continued after the Taliban takeover.
Operation Freedom's Sentinel Lead Inspector General Report in Brief, July 1, 2021-September 30, 2021