Showing posts with label reconstruction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reconstruction. Show all posts

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Afghan Governance News

The two-year anniversary of the formation of the National Unity Government (NUG) is approaching and many of the expected actions (political and electoral reforms, scheduling of parliamentary elections, convening of Loya Jirga, etc.) that were supposed to take place have been put on hold. This raises the question of the legitimacy of the NUG and may likely cause some increased political turmoil in Afghanistan. The constitutional crisis and political deadlock is being carefully watched by donor nations and those countries providing troops for the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. Read more in "The Coming Political Crisis In Afghanistan - Analysis", Eurasia Review, September 27, 2016.

SIGAR Report - Lessons Learned. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has issued a report entitled "Conference Report - Lessons from the Coalition: International Experiences from the Afghanistan Reconstruction", September 2016.
www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-16-59-LL.pdf

Fighting Corruption? Not so much. "Out of 83 senior officials in the past two Afghan governments, only one - the current president, Ashraf Ghani - fully complied with financial disclosure laws . . ." Read more in "U.S.-Backed Effort to Fight Afghan Corruption Is a Near-Total Failure, Audit Finds", The New York Times, September 27, 2016.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

US Efforts of Reconstruction Misplaced

A recent article by Kiran Nazish in The Diplomat states that the United States had the wrong approach to humanitarian and reconstruction aid provided to Afghanistan. While many look at the senior government officials and their corrupt practices as the principle reason for the failure of much of the reconstruction effort - Nazish puts most of the blame on the United States. Hmmmm. Not sure about that. Read his thoughts on U.S. reconstruction aid to Afghanistan in "The Misplaced Priorities of US Reconstruction Efforts in Afghanistan" dated February 18, 2015.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Restoring Historic Afghan Landmarks

Afghanistan has a rich history and this is reflected in some of the historic landmarks left behind by older civilizations. Unfortunately, many of these historic sites have been destroyed by the Taliban, are decaying, or are suffering from neglect. There are some organizations and individuals striving to reverse this trend. Read more in "Meet the Afghan Workers Restoring Historic Landmarks Destroyed by the Taliban", Vice News, December 28, 2014.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Good News on Afghanistan

It is easy to be pessimistic about Afghanistan. We have spent tons of money and many of our military members have lost their lives or suffered life-long injuries. And for all of that we still have an enduring insurgency, outrageous corruption, a thriving drug trade, and Afghan security forces that don't understand counterinsurgency. However,  . . . a lot of good has come out of our very long stay in Afghanistan. Read more in "The good news in Afghanistan's Marshall Plan", by Mike Corones in Reuters, December 19, 2014.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Remarks by John Sopko (SIGAR) on Afghanistan

John F. Sopko, the head of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), presented some prepared remarks to an audience at Georgetown University on September 12, 2014. In his remarks he describes the mission of SIGAR, the immense reconstruction effort underway in Afghanistan, the vast amounts of money spent and to be spent, the problem of Afghan corruption, the lack of oversight in the past, and the challenges of monitoring billions of dollars in aid in the future. He provides an argument on why oversight of reconstruction aid is mission-critical and provides recommendations for the future. You can read his speech online.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

U.S. Senator Wants Better Oversight on Construction Projects in Afghanistan

Senator Shaheen from New Hampshire is joining the many congressional representatives who want more oversight on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. Read "Shaheen calls for oversight on Afghanistan reconstruction", The Hill Blog, February 3, 2014.