:Reconstruction in Afghanistan

The reconstruction process of Afghanistan began in 2002. Many of these projects were supervised by the Provincial Reconstruction Teams. The World Bank contribution is the multilateral Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which was set up in 2002, by the ideas of Noor Rahman Liwal.{{cite web|url=https://www.noorrahmanliwal.com/nt/?gnh=1766&zbh=en|title=IMF and Afghanistan's other Donors and Creditors: Stop The Afghanistan Debt And Aid Trap To Save Millions Of Innocent Lives Worldwide|work=NoorRahmanLiwal/#StopTheAfghanistanDebtTrap|access-date=15 May 2020}} There are more than 14,000 reconstruction projects underway in Afghanistan, such as the Kajaki and the Salma Dam.{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/03/642FF16A-41C2-4AF2-B314-1D7BAEDDFAE6.html|title=Afghanistan: NATO Pleased With Offensive, But Goals Still Unmet|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|access-date=18 October 2014}} It is financed by 24 international donor countries and has spent more than $1.37 billion as of 2007.{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/AFGHANISTANEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20152008~pagePK:141137~piPK:217854~theSitePK:305985,00.html |title=Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund |publisher=World Bank | access-date=2009-03-13| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090202093827/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/AFGHANISTANEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20152008~pagePK:141137~piPK:217854~theSitePK:305985,00.html| archive-date= 2 February 2009 | url-status= live}} Approximately 30 billion dollars have been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, most of it from the United States. In 2002, the world community allocated $4 billion at the Tokyo conference followed by another $4 billion in 2004. In February 2006, $10.5 billion were committed for Afghanistan at the London Conference{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51510&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN |title=Government to have greater control over aid pledged in London |publisher=IRIN Asia | access-date=2009-03-13}} and $11 billion from the United States in early 2007. Despite these vast investments by the international community, the reconstruction effort's results have been mixed. Implementation of development projects at the district and sub-district level has been frequently marred by lack of coordination, knowledge of local conditions, and sound planning on the side of international donors as well as by corruption and inefficiency on the side of Afghan government officials.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

One major development goal is the completion of the Ring Road - a series of highways linking the major cities of Afghanistan.[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/10/7f9d2791-dc84-4928-90ce-4a1e6e8a02c6.html Afghanistan: Ring Road's Completion Would Benefit Entire Region][http://gdb.rferl.org/3E7AE005-B925-445D-8059-613AD8E0549B.jpg Road reconstruction map]

On the provincial and national level, projects such as the National Solidarity Programme, inter-provincial road construction, and the US-led revamping of rural health services have met with more success.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The United States has poured tens of billions of dollars into the reconstruction effort. It has established the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to provide oversight. This office is presently headed by John Sopko. In September Sopko said in connection with the effort, "all I'm seeing is a modus operandi that's woefully out of touch at best, and delusional at worst". He also said, "It seems that time and again, people have to be reminded that Afghanistan is not Kansas". He complained that many people, especially at USAID, design programmes "without considering the fact that you have a tribal government, that you have a criminal element there". He said that although 8 billion dollars had been spent combatting the narcotics trade, he thought the effort overall was an abject failure. More acres are growing opium, more opium is being produced, there are tighter relationships between the opium traffickers and the terrorists (who are getting more money), and there are more Afghan addicts. But American officials consider it a success because they have trained a certain number of narcotics police, prosecutors, et cetera.[http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/5/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download/proto/http/vpid/p0332zmc.mp3 BBC Newshour, Sept. 21, 2015].

Afghanistan was on the rebound after years of conflict had wreaked havoc on the country's infrastructure. The US was collaborating with the Afghan government to develop and implement good economic policies that are long-term, transparent, and predictable. The United States Agency for International Development aimed to improve economic policies that affect the public sector by strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, as well as creating an environment that allows the private sector to expand and create jobs and income.{{Cite web|title=U.S. Commitment to Afghanistan|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/afghanistan/us-commitment.html|access-date=2021-12-16|website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov}} According to the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction report, reveals how most programs were not suited to the complicated circumstances which wasted 20 years and $145 billion of effort "We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan... we didn't know what we were doing." - Douglas Lute.{{Cite web|title=US mission in Afghanistan a failure: Government watchdog|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-mission-afghanistan-failure-government-watchdog/story?id=79484073|access-date=2021-12-16|website=ABC News|language=en}} The rehabilitation effort's achievements have been varied. Theres was a lack of coordination, understanding of local conditions, and sound planning on the part of international donors, as well as corruption and incompetence on the part of the Afghan government.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Kazakhstan is providing food and development assistance to Afghanistan. Kazakhstan has delivered $20 million worth food products since 2002 and $50 million in scholarships for Afghan students to study in Kazakhstan.{{cite news|title=Kazakhstan, Afghanistan to intensify economic co-op|url=http://en.trend.az/casia/kazakhstan/2458905.html|agency=trendaz}} Multiple countries in NATO have also contributed to assistance.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

According to a lawsuit filed in December 2019 in the D.C. District Court on behalf of Gold Star families, U.S. contractors involved in Afghanistan reconstruction projects, including Louis Berger Group and Development Alternatives Incorporated,{{cite news |title=Families of Afghan war dead say contractors bribed Taliban |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/families-of-afghan-war-dead-say-contractors-bribed-taliban-1.612690 |work=Stars and Stripes |date=December 27, 2019}} made illegal "protection payments" to the Taliban, funding a "Taliban-led terrorist insurgency" that killed or wounded thousands of Americans in Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=US contractors sued for allegedly paying 'protection money' to the Taliban in Afghanistan |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/lawsuit-contractors-paid-protection-money-used-in-terrorist-insurgency.html |work=CNBC |date=December 27, 2019}}{{cite news |title=Gold Star Families Sue Defense Contractors, Alleging They Funded The Taliban |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/12/28/792065458/gold-star-families-sue-defense-contractors-alleging-they-funded-the-taliban |work=NPR |date=December 28, 2019}}{{cite news |title=Lawsuit Accusing Contractors of Paying Protection Money to Taliban Is Expanded |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawsuit-accusing-contractors-of-paying-protection-money-to-taliban-is-expanded-11591471172 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=June 8, 2020}} A related lawsuit accused the Iranian government. In 2009, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the "protection money" was "one of the major sources of funding for the Taliban."{{cite news |title=Gold Star family lawsuit alleges contractors in Afghanistan funneled money to the Taliban |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/27/politics/afghanistan-contractor-suit/index.html |work=CNN |date=December 28, 2019}}

Following the Fall of Kabul in August 2021 and the withdrawal of coalition forces, the Second Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was restored by Taliban forces. This coincided with international sanctions and the end of many reconstruction efforts from outside governments. This was further hampered by human rights abuses in the country and supposed relations with Al-Qaeda.{{Cite news |last=Goldbaum |first=Christina |last2=Gibbons-Neff |first2=Thomas |date=2022-08-02 |title=For the Taliban, a New Era of Isolation Has Arrived |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban.html |access-date=2022-08-02 |issn=0362-4331}}

• Investment in post-invasion Iraq
• Nation-building

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.csis.org/isp/pcr/ More information on Post-Conflict Reconstruction from the Center for Strategic and International Studies]

{{Afghanistan–United States relations}}

Category:Afghanistan–United States relations