The Lead Inspector General Report to the United States Congress on Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) covering the period of July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021 has been released by the Department of Defense on November 16, 2021. The lead IG agencies for this report are the Department of Defense, Department of State, and US Agency for International Development. This report covers the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of the Afghan government. In addition, it provides information about the non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) that took place at the Kabul airport in August 2021.
In this report – as well as the classified version – are found a summarization of the events that took place during the months of July, August, and September 2021. It also describes certain areas of concern that contributed to the rapid collapse of Afghan security forces – one that happened much faster than anticipated.
The quarter began with the continuation of the gradual reduction of forces in Afghanistan – which had been in progress for the past several years – and was to conclude in early August. However, the chaos at the Kabul airport in August 2021 required that over 5,000 U.S. military personnel be flown to the Kabul airport to assist in the NEO. The U.S. and its allies flew over 124,000 people out of the airport in August. These included U.S. Embassy staff, other U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, and Afghan nationals. Some of the Afghan nationals had supported the U.S. and NATO military operations. However, in the initial chaos of the NEO many Afghans who managed to get onto the airport and airplanes had no specific relationship to the U.S. or NATO forces.
Contents of the Report:
- Executive summary
- Major developments
- Factors contributing to the Afghan military collapse
- U.S. mission reorients to evacuation
- Status of terrorism in Afghanistan
- Disposition of U.S. property in Afghanistan
- Diplomacy and political developments
- Development and humanitarian assistance
- IG oversight activities
- Acronyms and Endnotes
The Lead IG report to the United States Congress is published every quarter. This report, published in November 2021, is 102 pages long (PDF).
https://www.stateoig.gov/system/files/q4fy2021_leadig_ofs_508.pdf