A watchdog group is growing frustrated with the Department of Defense for using "needless" classifications in documents pertaining to the War in Afghanistan.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) is tasked with issuing reports on the war, which began in 2001. John Sopko told reporters Wednesday his office has discovered a trend.
"What we are finding is now almost every metric for success or failure is now classified or non-existent," Sopko said, according to The Hill. "Over time it's been classified or it's no longer being collected.
"The classification, we think, in some areas is needless."
Sopko added, "People should know how their money's being spent, and if everything is classified the people don't know how the money's being spent, they can't ask important questions like are we doing a good job or not? Should we be there or not?"
According to SIGAR's website, the U.S. has spent $126.30 billion on relief and reconstruction in Afghanistan since 2002. The watchdog group, created in 2008, aims to track spending related to the lengthy war that began in October 2001 when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan on the heels of the September 11 terror attacks.
Earlier this month, three U.S. Marines and one military contractor were killed by a roadside bomb near Bagram Airfield, which serves as the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.