http://blogs.state.gov/sgwi U.S. Department of State en U.S. Department of State 2010-12-10T05:06:03+00:002010-12-06T02:40:19+00:002010-12-04T22:16:18+00:002010-11-27T13:07:27+00:002010-11-23T23:50:26+00:002010-11-23T02:51:48+00:002010-11-19T21:42:44+00:002010-11-12T18:11:17+00:002010-11-11T15:07:00+00:002010-11-10T19:11:27+00:002010-11-08T18:12:48+00:002010-11-04T20:09:46+00:002010-11-04T13:07:51+00:002010-10-27T19:22:29+00:002010-10-22T15:40:31+00:002010-10-19T13:13:31+00:002010-10-16T19:54:56+00:002010-10-08T18:43:44+00:002010-10-06T21:22:43+00:002010-09-10T17:41:43+00:002010-08-12T22:53:18+00:002010-08-09T21:38:53+00:002010-08-08T17:43:06+00:002010-07-30T21:22:13+00:002010-07-22T19:46:47+00:002010-07-15T16:01:37+00:002010-07-14T18:26:46+00:002010-07-14T00:48:21+00:002010-07-12T20:19:00+00:002010-07-08T13:58:55+00:002010-07-07T16:01:38+00:002010-07-04T14:18:26+00:002010-07-02T02:23:15+00:002010-06-25T01:52:30+00:002010-06-18T20:28:06+00:002010-06-13T16:03:01+00:002010-06-01T18:35:41+00:002010-05-31T04:20:32+00:002010-05-14T21:28:43+00:002010-05-14T10:34:00+00:002010-05-04T22:32:53+00:002010-04-29T11:29:37+00:002010-04-14T20:19:41+00:002010-04-09T18:25:10+00:002010-04-05T13:53:57+00:002010-03-31T22:09:44+00:002010-03-28T23:40:46+00:002010-02-17T16:45:08+00:002010-02-04T03:39:14+00:002010-02-02T20:11:08+00:002010-01-28T20:51:57+00:002010-01-26T21:32:59+00:002010-01-26T15:06:18+00:002010-01-19T20:53:21+00:002010-01-12T17:12:19+00:002010-01-06T20:44:30+00:002009-12-17T04:22:08+00:00 About the Author: Robert Sauers serves with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Afghanistan.

Second Vice President H.E. Abdul Karim Khalili and Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry joined a host of Afghan officials other international representatives assembled at the Second National Conference on Water Resources Development and Management of Afghanistan held at the Ministerial Palace on December 7 to celebrate progress made toward managing vital water resources in Afghanistan.

The goal of the conference was to foster collaboration among key organizations to address Afghanistan's water resource development and management challenges with the primary objectives of reducing poverty and improving public welfare.

Addressing more than 200 conference participants, 2nd Vice President Khalili said, "Afghanistan as a developing country needs energy and power. Fortunately, Afghanistan has great water resources that sometimes we can bring changes to the power of the country. We need a unified policy in consideration to the national policy of Afghanistan. I am hopeful that the Ministry of Power and Water can secure and protect the water resources of Afghanistan." Other conference keynote speakers included Acting Minister of Energy and Water Alhaj Mohammad Ismael Khan, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock Mohammad Asef Rahimi, and Ambassador Eikenberry.

The governments of Afghanistan and the United States both consider water a key priority to address essential basic human needs. Water is critical to Afghanistan's overall development, especially with respect to access to potable drinking water, increased agricultural production through more efficient and expanded irrigation, and domestic hydropower development.

"The hope of future generations depends, in part, on our ability to manage wisely precious and limited water resources, not just in Afghanistan, but worldwide," said Ambassador Eikenberry. "I am confident that developing and managing Afghanistan's scarce and valuable water resources will promote prosperity in Afghanistan, and greatly enhance peace and stability in the region."

The United States Agency for International Development helped facilitate the organization of the conference.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/owater_resource_afghanistan/ 2010-12-10T05:06:03+00:00 About the Author: Robert Sauers serves with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Afghanistan.

In support of the United Nations designated International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health celebrated its annual Community Health Worker Day on December 5, 2010. Acting Minister of Public Health Dr. Suraya Dalil, USAID Senior Deputy Mission Director Robert Hellyer, other government officials, and international donors joined in recognizing the critical contribution of community health workers in Afghanistan and encouraging them to continue their voluntary support to their communities.

The event praised the contributions of the more than 22,000 volunteers throughout the country who deliver community level health-education, counseling, and services out of village health posts located in private homes. The Ministry of Public Health envisioned that community-based healthcare programs will actively encourage communities and families to adopt healthy lifestyles and behaviors, and provide families access to high quality and socially acceptable preventative medicine and life-saving services.

"We have 22,000 community health workers in Afghanistan that are able to implement the basic and standard medicines. They all have been trained through a job description," said Minister Dalil. Addressing the health workers, she added, "I am proud...that I have people like you."

USAID-funded health projects collaborate closely with the Ministry of Public Health to improve the health and nutritional status of Afghans, provide quality primary healthcare, and promote healthy behaviors at the community and household-levels. USAID supported the training of more than 9,000 of the volunteer community health workers currently working in Afghanistan.

"On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the community health workers for their diligence to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to serve their communities in this important role," said USAID Senior Deputy Mission Director Hellyer. "USAID strongly supports community based health care and believes that quality community-based health services are essential to reaching Afghanistan's Millennium Development Goals."

USAID assisted in developing the community health worker training manual, helped train community health worker supervisors and master-trainers, facilitated in-service training, and produced and developed reporting tools, job aids, and education materials.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/community_health_workers_afghanistan/ 2010-12-06T02:40:19+00:00 About the Author: Joyce Kim serves with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Kabul, Afghanistan.

On December 3, 2010, Afghan farmers and merchants took an important step forward in world trade by exporting Afghanistan's first-ever, 40-foot refrigerated container ("reefer") of pomegranates, destined for buyers in Canada. Subsequent reefer shipments will go to Dubai and Holland through the seaport in Karachi, Pakistan.

Canadians will soon enjoy the juiciest and tastiest pomegranates from Afghanistan. In the past, exporting chilled fresh fruit to distant markets was impossible, because Afghanistan did not have the required cold-chain infrastructure, trade agreements, or skilled merchants. Now, however, the U.S. Government is assisting with the infrastructure and trade policy essentials for Afghan exports of chilled fresh fruit. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is bringing these components together by training farmers to produce higher quality products, and linking them with merchants who have been trained in packaging techniques, and connecting them to new international markets.

USAID, through its Commercial Horticulture and Agriculture Marketing Program (CHAMP), has facilitated the shipment of fresh fruit through Karachi to international markets. In August, CHAMP assisted Afghan merchants with the first-ever reefer shipment of chilled grapes to India by road. Shipments through Pakistan are now an option due to recent changes in Afghanistan-Pakistan trade policy. The chilled fruit was packed in refrigerated houses built with funding from local merchants, and the governments of the United States and India.

The incentives to adopt new practices lie in increased profits. Pomegranate growers receive price increases of 136 percent for their higher-quality fruits. Merchants have seen enough increase in profits that they are continuing to use the new marketing techniques without CHAMP assistance. After testing the market with CHAMP assistance in 2009, merchants shipped 28 reefers of grapes to Karachi. Following the trial to India this year, merchants are planning to continue chilled grape shipments next year.

Afghan farmers, merchants, and government officials are optimistic that this year's marketing trials will yield results that will sustain the expansion of pomegranate, grape, and other fresh fruit exports. USAID and collaborating merchants are planning to test fresh fruit markets in Australia, Ukraine, Germany, and Russia next year.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/refrigerated_containers_fresh_fruit_afghanistan/ 2010-12-04T22:16:18+00:00 About the Author: Ed Messmer serves with District Support Team Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The district of Marjah in Helmand Province, which had been a center of insurgent activity for nearly two years, was liberated from the Taliban in February 2010 as U.S. Marines entered in force. Due to its importance to the insurgency, the district was the scene of heavy kinetic activity through the spring and early summer. But by late summer, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), teamed with their ISAF colleagues, had cleared central Marjah of almost all activity, creating a secure environment in which economic and political activity is rapidly expanding.

The turning point may have occurred on the day parliamentary elections were held (September 18) when ANSF and ISAF successfully protected more than 100 election officials at 12 polling sites spread across this far-flung district, despite dire warnings from the insurgency they would "destroy" the election process. Since that date, the secure center has been steadily pushed out to the margins of the district.

Development projects are now progressing well, seven schools enjoy increasing enrollment, the district's bazaars are busy with commerce, and roads and irrigation canals are rapidly being improved. At present, we are in the midst of a concerted effort to assist farmers of the district to switch out of poppy cultivation, which under the Taliban had become their primary crop. With the distribution of high quality seed, fertilizer, and farming equipment, along with the creation of new farming cooperatives that allow for efficiencies of scale, we feel confident that poppy production will steadily decrease, thereby further weakening the insurgency in this critical district. In only ten months, Marjah, despite considerable challenges, has come a long way on the road to stability and renewed prosperity.

The Today Show's Lester Holt was recently in Afghanistan for a series of live broadcasts from throughout the country, including Marjah. See that clip here.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/marjah_progress/ 2010-11-27T13:07:27+00:00 About the Author: Robert Sauers serves at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

A large crowd of cricket enthusiasts watched today as Finance Minister Mohammad Omer Zakhiwal and United States Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry laid foundation stones to inaugurate the renovation of the Kabul National Cricket Stadium.

Because of the national team's exceptional success in many international tournaments, cricket in Afghanistan is gaining popularity. The growing number of players includes not only men, but women as well. More than 100 young women are currently playing cricket in Kabul and the Afghanistan Cricket Board is about to create a National Women's Cricket Team for the 2011 Asian Elite Cup Tournament in February 2011.

"Cricket in Afghanistan is more than a game. It is a means for bringing Afghan youth from different backgrounds together. It has become a source of pride for ordinary Afghans and an example of their resolve and determination. It is a game that can contribute positively to peace and stability in our country. That is why, today, we are so very grateful to USAID in supporting the construction of the Kabul National Cricket Stadium," said Minister Zakhiwal. Minister Zakhiwal is also the Chairman of the Afghan Cricket Board.

With an estimated completion in July 2011, the renovation will include a new boundary wall, pitch, sprinkler system, and seating. The renovated stadium will serve as the main hub for hosting both domestic and international events and will accommodate more than 6,000 cricket fans. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the project will employ labor-intensive construction methods to provide short-term employment for unemployed Afghans.

"I am honored and proud to be part of this project that will rehabilitate this cricket stadium and provide a safe venue in which Afghan youth and the Afghan National Team can play for years to come," said Ambassador Eikenberry. "I am looking forward to working together on future projects that enhance the lives of Afghanistan's young people through sport."

This project is an excellent opportunity for the governments of Afghanistan and the United States to work closely together to meet the needs of Afghans, especially youth. This project will be implemented under USAID's Community Development Program (CDP) with additional support from the Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD) project. These USAID projects are designed to assist the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to extend its reach into unstable areas, engage at-risk populations, create an environment that encourages local communities to take an active role in their own stability and development, and address the underlying causes of instability.

You can find photographs of the event here.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/kabul_cricket/ 2010-11-23T23:50:26+00:00 About the Author: Fleur Cowan is the Deputy Cultural Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy.

U.S. Embassy Rome recently hosted three impressive civil society representatives who shared with the Italian public their personal experiences in building a new Afghanistan. Jawed Nader spoke about agriculture, Rahima Housaini discussed prison reform, and Wazir Ahmad Khorami addressed human rights. Though they represented three different fields, they all shared a common view: Things are much better in Afghanistan now than they were under the Taliban, and the support of the international community is vital.

Jawed, Rahima and Wazir thanked the Italians and spent their time in Italy meeting with a range of people, from politicians and journalists to students and development activists. The fresh perspective of the three young activists attracted broad media coverage and public interest.

While in Milan, the group visited the newsroom of Yalla Italia, the biggest Italian website and newsletter dedicated to Muslim Italians. On Yalla's site, the Afghans published an Op-Ed-style column to address development and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

At standing-room-only seminars, Jawed, Rahima and Wazir spoke to students at Rome's LUISS University and Catholic University in Milan. They discussed the role of civil society and the importance of protecting human rights. State-run TV TG1 -- which often garners an audience of 6.5 million -- covered the LUISS event, interviewing our Afghan guests and some of the Italian students as well. One young Italian expressed surprise in learning that "there is such an active civil society in Afghanistan…because the media doesn't talk about it and neither does the university." A second stated that “Afghanistan is doing a great deal to move forward, to recover, but it still needs international help.”

The three Afghan leaders also participated in roundtable discussions with representatives from Italian NGOs, met with members of the Afghan diaspora in Rome, and sat down with politicians from Italy's major center-left and center-right political parties. Representatives from both political parties expressed support for Italy's contribution to NATO, and invited Jawed, Rahima and Wazir to come back to Italy in the future to speak to European political youth groups.

The positive impact of Afghan voices speaking directly to the Italian public cannot be overstated. The Italian and European public need to hear directly from Afghan civil society leaders about why concrete support for the NATO mission must remain a priority. Jawed, Rahima and Wazir outlined extensive progress in their country, acknowledged that much work remains, and explained the need for continuing international support. They argued the cause with passion and credibility, as only three young Afghans who are rebuilding Afghanistan's society with their own hands could do.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/young_afghan_leaders_rome/ 2010-11-23T02:51:48+00:00 About the Author: Hila Hanif serves in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

What better way to tackle challenging border control issues, including narcotics-smuggling and criminal threats, than to visit others who are addressing the same challenges? This week, a delegation of Afghan officials visited the United States for just that reason. The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security hosted a group of officials from Afghanistan's Customs Department and Border Police and took them on a tour of several facilities in Washington D.C. and in Texas. The two agencies represented by the delegation have been working hand-in-hand with U.S. officials on a number of challenging customs and border issues, including airport security in Afghanistan.

Among the important functions of the Customs and Borders officials is interdiction of ammonium nitrate, the primary component used to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). IEDs are the number-one killer of troops and Afghan civilians, and the Afghans have made great strides in their interdiction efforts. During the visit, Director General Kammawie, head of Afghanistan's Customs Department, noted the importance of continuing to build the capacity of these two departments to, among other things, collect much-needed revenues for Afghanistan and reduce its dependency on foreign aid. The cooperation between Afghanistan and the United States on border issues is a great example of how the work we are doing together contributes to the safety and security of both countries' citizens.

The visit also caught the attention of Texas media, who wrote the article available here. ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghan_cbo_u.s._ports_of_entry/ 2010-11-19T21:42:44+00:00 About the Author: Abigail Sugrue is an officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Mayor Muhammad Yunus Nawandish of Kabul needed a creative solution. He wanted to build street lamps to light the darkened city, and provide safety and security to residents and visitors. However, with limited power generation and distribution systems, an innovative approach was needed.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked closely with the Mayor's office and Sustainable Energy Services Afghanistan (SESA) on a pilot program to use renewable energy to provide street lights to the 6 million people living within the city limits. With over 300 days of sun, Kabul City is an ideal place to explore the usage of the sun to power its streets. These solar street lights will not only provide more security and raise community morale, they will also support economic development by encouraging new nighttime commerce, and increasing civilian movement and emergency response.

The pilot program broke ground on Tuesday, November 9, 2010, in a roadside ceremony in the heart of Kabul, near the Jumhoriat National Specialized Hospital. The ceremony was covered by local media and attended by Mayor Nawandish and Deputy Mayor Abdul Ahad, as well as senior U.S. officials.

"Lighting is essential to improving the quality of life throughout Afghanistan," Mayor Nawandish said. “I'm proud that Kabul is leading the way down the path to renewable energy for our country."

The street lights are expected to be installed and operational by the end of the year and will include 28 stand-alone Solar LED street poles, providing light in one of the most critical commercial corridors.

This project represents a true collaboration among the United States Government, the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Mayor of Kabul City, and the Kabul City Working Group, a cross-cutting advisory panel dedicated to the issues and concern of Kabul. This partnership will continue as further project sites are being identified throughout Kabul.

This posting also appears on USAID's Impact Blog.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/renewable_energy_kabul/ 2010-11-12T18:11:17+00:00 About the Author: Wendy Kolls serves as an Assistant Press Officer at U.S. Embassy Kabul in Afghanistan.

U.S. Embassy Kabul was up early this Veterans Day to join the Congressional Delegation (CODEL) of Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman, Lindsey Graham and Kirsten Gillibrand in a ceremony hosted by Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.

A large crowd of U.S. Embassy Kabul employees gathered to honor U.S. veterans, filling the plaza in front of the New Chancery. Dozens of U.S. Marines stood in formation next to the stage, while the sun was just rising on a clear November day in Kabul. Everyone stood for the National Anthem, and then Ambassador Eikenberry and all four senators, on a stage set up next to the flagpole, paid tribute to our men and women in uniform serving our country around the world--and especially those in Afghanistan, who are currently fighting in a war, risking their lives every day.

"As we come together this Veterans Day, I'd like to begin by taking a moment to remember those who served before us honorably and nobly -- our comrades, our colleagues and our friends who have given their lives for the United States of America," Ambassador Eikenberry said.

They also thanked all the many civilians who are serving alongside the military in Afghanistan, who are also thinking of loved ones back home, and who also serve in dangerous conditions every day, noting that civilians as well as soldiers respond to the call to serve, as Senator McCain emphasized, "We have to love our freedom, not just for the private opportunities it provides but for the goodness it makes possible. We have to love it as much, even if not as heroically, as the brave Americans like you who defend us at the risk and often the cost of their lives. We must love it enough to argue about it and to work together to serve its interests in whatever way our abilities permit and our conscience requires -- whether it calls us to arms, altruism or to politics."

A large group of international and Afghan journalists and TV cameras were lined up facing the stage, eager for the opportunity to film the special occasion. Even though the CODEL had just a few minutes left before getting to their Blackhawks for the next part of their trip, they stayed long enough to meet and greet the long receiving line of U.S. Embassy Kabul's civilian and military personnel and to pose for photographs, which will be a nice token for the folks back home.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/embassy_kabul_veterans_day/ 2010-11-11T15:07:00+00:00 About the Author: Kerri Hannan serves as Information Officer at the U.S. Embassy Kabul in Afghanistan.

Ball State University in the United States received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of State to help Kandahar University develop curriculua that will emphasize free market principles and entrepreneurship for its new College of Economics.

Members of Kandahar's Economics Department will work with faculty members from Ball State's nationally ranked Center for Entrepreneurship to create courses in entrepreneurship, business development, and economic development.

The purpose of the grant is to provide Afghanistan with added economic development opportunities and integration into the international trade and business community, which lends itself to greater stability and peace in the region.

“We are excited about this historic partnership with Ball State University to strengthen our new Faculty of Economics and raise the English proficiency of our teachers and students,” commented Professor Dr. Hazrat Mir Tota Khil, Chancellor of Kandahar University.

"We are thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with Kandahar University on this venture and happy to offer up Ball State's expertise in entrepreneurship," said Ken Holland, Dean of Ball State's Rinker Center for International Programs." This project will allow Kandahar University to be the first public higher education institution in Afghanistan to highlight free-market principles in its economics curriculum."

"Kandahar University is in an area that is ripe for economic development," said Richard Boyum, the U.S. Department of State's university linkages and program evaluation coordinator for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He added, "Kandahar can fulfill its potential as an engine of economic growth in the southern region, an area that is vital to Afghanistan's political and economic stability."

Additionally, faculty and staff from Ball State will work with Kandahar University to improve the English language proficiency of its economics faculty and students and to create a career development center to help students gain more access to internships and employment opportunities. ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/university_grant_kandahar/ 2010-11-10T19:11:27+00:00 About the Author: Hila Hanif serves in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP).

The strength of our efforts in Afghanistan lies in the fact that we are working together with a number of partner nations, including 48 contributing troops to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), who are dedicated to improving security, governance and economic opportunity in Afghanistan and the region. Our allies and partners have made numerous contributions in the form of troops, Afghan National Security Forces trainers, PRT staff and resources, and economic assistance. Our allies, just like U.S. troops and civilians, are stationed throughout the country, some in the regions that are seeing the highest levels of violence. At the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Helmand, the United States is working with the UK, the Danish and the Estonians in a truly multinational effort. The UK has had the lead for the Helmand PRT since 2006.

Despite the extraordinary security challenges faced in this region of the country the PRT has made a number of significant achievements. Out of Helmand's 14 districts, 11 now have governors in place, a remarkable accomplishment given that there were only 5 in place at the end of 2008. Since that time, 46 schools have re-opened and pupil enrollment is steadily rising. The PRT is supporting the Afghan government in provincial administration through the District Delivery Program (DDP), and have invested in a number of infrastructure and economic development projects. The current head of the Helmand PRT is Michael O'Neill from the UK Foreign Office. Michael's blog, in which he, shares his account of some of his experiences in Helmand is available here. ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/multinational_effort_prt_helmand/ 2010-11-08T18:12:48+00:00 About the Author: Abigail Sugrue is an officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry joined senior Afghan officials, including the Minister of Women's Affairs, the Mayor of Kabul, the Governor of Kabul province, and members of parliament, to celebrate the reopening of the Women's Garden in Kabul on November 3, 2010.

The garden, once a sanctuary, was destroyed during the Afghan civil war. During the paralyzing restrictions of the Taliban era, women and girls were unable to enter the park, and it became a garbage dump.

Now that the historic Women's Garden has reopened its doors, the eight-acre enclosure provides the women of Kabul a safe space to participate in a range of recreational and educational activities. The garden hosts gym and sports classes, vocational training, literacy classes, and serves as a place to socialize. It is also home to the provincial Directorate of Women's Affairs.

The reconstruction project was led and implemented by the Director of Women's Affairs, Ms. Karima Salik, who had played in the garden as a young girl before it was destroyed. The Women's Garden was rehabilitated through USAID's Food Insecurity Response for Urban Populations (FIRUP) and the Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD) programs, with CARE International acting as the implementing partner for FIRUP, and DAI as the implementer for LGCD. Fifty percent of the laborers who rebuilt the garden were women.

In her remarks at the ceremony, Dr. Husnbanu Ghazanfar, Minister of Women's Affairs said, “Over the last 30 years this garden turned into a ruin but with the assistance of the U.S. government and other international donors, the garden has a new life now. More than ever, it is both a place to relax and to learn.”

Acknowledging the dedicated work and leadership of Ms. Salik, and the tremendous efforts of Minister Ghazanfar, Governor Zabihullah Mujadadi, Mayor Mohammad Yunus Nawandish, and the entire Provincial Development Committee for their efforts to advance the rights of women, Ambassador Eikenberry noted, “Today marks a new day -- and the hope that Afghan women can again have a garden of their own in Kabul. While this Garden heralds the strength of Afghan women, it is my hope that it will also be seen as a symbol of the United States government's -- and, for that matter, the whole international community's -- support for a lasting friendship and partnership with all Afghans.”]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/womens_garden_kabul/ 2010-11-04T20:09:46+00:00 About the Author: Philip Smucker serves as USAID Senior Development Outreach and Communications Director in Kabul, Afghanistan.

On Saturday, October 30, Afghan Minister Jarullah Mansoori came together with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) partners to sign a crucial agreement to increase access to clean water and sanitation services in poor communities across Afghanistan.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) cements new Afghan measures to combat water-related diseases and improve access to potable water. The Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation (SWSS) project is a services delivery tool of the government. The project will increase water supply, promote good hygiene and boost community awareness for the need for water conservation. The overall budget of the project is about 52 million USD over the course of three years.

Following a keynote speech by Minister Mansoori, U.S. Deputy Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne heralded the agreement as a new development focus for Afghanistan.

"I'm proud that the United States government is funding this important project and assisting the development of sustainable sources for clean drinking water -- as well as the accompanying sanitation facilities and hygiene education programs," said Wayne. "Increased access to potable water significantly reduces the incidence of infectious disease and contributes to a healthier and more prosperous society."

The project is for a period of three years during which time over 4,000 water points will be developed and some 50,000 latrines will be built or improved. In addition, some 50 water pipe schemes are to be constructed as part of the project. Even as Minister Mansoori, Ambassador Wayne and USAID Deputy Mission Director Robert Hellyer signed the memo, work on the project had already begun.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghanistan_clean_water_pact/ 2010-11-04T13:07:51+00:00 About the Author: Michele Peters serves in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She recently returned from temporary duty assignment with U.S. Embassy Kabul's Public Affairs Section.

U.S. Embassy Kabul has awarded USD 3.1 million to support NATO's "SILK-Afghanistan" program, which provides high-speed Internet access to more than 9,000 students and teachers at Afghan universities in seven provinces (Baghlan, Faryab, Ghazni, Helmand, Kunduz, Paktia and Parvan). The program will also enhance existing bandwidth for 28,000 students and lecturers at five major Afghan universities over the next three years at a daily cost of less than eight cents per student.

The SILK-Afghanistan program is improving higher education and developing Afghan capacity, especially in the fields of information and communication technology, vital components of any growing economy.

Seven universities were identified as the first beneficiaries of this expansion project: Bamiyan, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Khost, Mazar-e-Sharif and Sheberghan, enabling them to access the Internet and other educational and research networks. Kabul University and the Government Media and Information Center in Kabul are already served through the program.

Named after the Great Silk Road trading route linking Asia and Europe, the NATO Virtual Silk Highway (SILK) project was initiated in 2002 under the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Program. Over the past seven years, the program has provided affordable high-speed Internet access via satellite to academic communities in the Caucasus and Central Asian countries. Kabul University joined the program in 2006.

The project, which is a partnership with the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education, kicked off on October 1, 2010, and is scheduled to run through September 2013.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/internet_connection_universities_afghanistan/ 2010-10-27T19:22:29+00:00 About the Author: Dante Paradiso, a Special Assistant in the Bureau of African Affairs, formerly served as Senior Civilian Representative with BCT Task Force Mountain Warrior.

State Department officers, USAID development experts, and representatives from several other U.S. government agencies serve alongside the U.S. military throughout Afghanistan as part of our efforts to integrate civilian and military operations, including with Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), with combat battalions, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, and District Support Teams.

BCT Task Force Mountain Warrior's area of operations covered the four eastern Afghanistan provinces of Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar and Laghman, and the BCT was deployed from June 2009 to June 2010. Task Force Bastogne replaced the Task Force Mountain Warrior team, but many civilians under Chief of Mission authority remain in the area, providing valuable continuity.

In March 2010, Time.com embedded with Task Force Mountain Warrior and produced a video that reflects the work of the Brigade Senior Civilian Representative and other State Department Officers in Kunar province over the past year. The video shows the integrated nature of the Task Force's work and the important role that civilians are playing on the front lines, working hand-in-hand with their military colleagues.

You can watch their video here. ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/video_civ-mil_coordination/ 2010-10-22T15:40:31+00:00 About the Author: Jennifer Galt serves as Public Affairs Advisor at the U.S. Mission to NATO.

During his trip to Brussels, Paris, and The Hague on a USNATO-sponsored program, Afghan Governor Abdul Jabar Naeemi shared his struggles and triumphs in Khost Province with NATO and EU leaders, French and Dutch government officials, the press and civil society in a very real, concrete way, hammering home the importance of Europe's continued support to Afghanistan. While speaking with a wide range of audiences in these three European capitals, Governor Naeemi adopted a personal tone, sharing stories from his own experiences and emphasizing the progress that European efforts have made possible in Afghanistan.

At every stop on his trip, Governor Naeemi highlighted the successes taking root in Khost Province and throughout Afghanistan. The Governor took on a whirlwind schedule, including everything from an interview with BBC World and a meeting with European Parliament leaders -- who stated that they rarely heard directly from Afghans -- to a discussion at a prominent Dutch think tank and a briefing for the Chairman of NATO's Military Committee. His firsthand account of day-to-day situations, challenges, and improvement in his province raised awareness among government officials and the NATO public. The positive outcomes of international assistance were central to his discussions on education, community development, health and security.

On the topic of education, he revealed that 177,000 students, including 40,000 girls, are attending school in his province. More than 25,000 young people participate in a provincial sports program that has cricket, soccer and volleyball tournaments regularly, even in the most volatile districts. He also said that whereas six months ago tribal elders were most concerned about security, they are now asking for more schools, health clinics and roads to be built in their communities. He reminded his audiences that citizens in NATO's 28 member countries and the people of Afghanistan share a common enemy, and that the people of Afghanistan, like people everywhere, want progress and a better future for their children. Through specific examples, personal stories, and a discussion of the needs of ordinary people, the Governor was able to connect his European audiences to the topic at hand in a very personal and highly effective manner.

The direct reports offered by Afghan Governor Naeemi proved invaluable in balancing the negative and misinformed picture of a lack of progress in Afghanistan routinely portrayed in the media. Hearing from the Governor himself allowed for an honest account of the benefits that international assistance has been making in helping Afghans build capacity in education, rule of law, economic development and other areas necessary to establish a strong and secure society.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/naeemi_nato_afghanistan/ 2010-10-19T13:13:31+00:00 About the Author: Jim Carey serves with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Afghanistan.

More than 1,000 kites soared across Herat Stadium yesterday, painting a stark contrast to the time when the Taliban outlawed kite-flying.

The event, which started at 2:30 p.m., was coordinated by the U.S. Agency for International Development in coordination with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and newly-appointed Herat Governor Duad Sabah. Artfully inscribed with justice-themed messages, the kites served as a medium to increase public knowledge of rule of law issues and to promote the use of Afghanistan's formal justice system.

Several radio stations conducted broadcasts live from the event, playing music, and airing short justice -themed educational messages about basic legal rights, such as the right of women to file criminal charges and the illegality of forced and underage marriage.

Younger children not participating in kite-flying activities were entertained by a mobile cinema production that featured "Yassin and Kaka Raouf," the rule of law comic cartoon series. Children were given these rule of law comic books to share with friends and family. The Supreme Court's Director General, Dr. Abdul Malik Kamawi, commended that the event was a unique and innovative international initiative that respects Afghan culture, while educating the Afghan public about what's possible in a new Afghanistan.

Today's justice-themed kite event was a tribute to an age-old Afghan pastime and tradition, and a reminder of Afghanistan's continuing progress towards a just and modern society.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/children_kites_herat_afghanistan/ 2010-10-16T19:54:56+00:00 About the Author: James O'Gara is a Civilian-Military Coordinator in the Office of Afghanistan & Pakistan Programs, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

In Afghanistan, the challenge of getting agricultural goods to market is heightened not only by the security environment, but also by a lack of quality roads, which, in turn, prevents reliable access to markets. This inability to get perishable goods to market drives the development of an opium economy. For one group of communities in northwest Kabul province, a paved road empowered them to develop viable alternatives to growing poppies.

Comprised of 21 villages, the Shakar Dara (literally, “Sugar Valley”) corridor northwest of Kabul is a prolific source of apricots, peaches, and grapes. For as long as anyone can remember, the area has been served by a single, deeply rutted dirt road for as long as anyone can remember. “That road,” notes local official Haji Mohammed Ibrahim, “was only good enough for a donkey.”

Residents banded together and approached the local Community Development Council about funding a road paving project. The proposal appeared to be a match with the Good Performer's Initiative (GPI), a fund administered by Afghanistan's Ministry of Counternarcotics, which first rewarded Kabul Province for reducing poppy cultivation and, later, for remaining poppy-free.

Former Mujahedin commander Mullah Taj Muhammad, now a Wolesi Jirga member who lives in nearby Khaza village, championed their cause. The proposal ultimately received USD 597,000 in GPI assistance. An additional USD 487,000 came from direct funding from the U.S. and U.K. governments. All told, the new road is 7.7 km in length, and connects the villages of Kochkin, Karizmeer, Dolana, Balakarez, Charkhil and Ghaza.

We asked Taj Muhammad what difference the project had made in the lives of villagers. “Before, people did not have access to the city, to the big fruit markets like the one in Khayar Khanosh,” he said. “There used to be huge transport costs to get fruits into the city markets. A sack of apricots [now costs half as much] to move to market.”

Taj Muhammad is quick to note the economic benefits of the project itself: “The builders [employed] more than 3,000 local people to help build the road. The value of the land here has gone up. Even the head of a bank is building his home here. And now, the security forces can get to the villages when they have to.”

Wazir Gul Anis, a local agriculture department representative, put it more succinctly: “It is a dream to have the road here.”

When we traveled the road on a recent day, traffic was varied: a large truck shared the highway with a taxicab, a three-wheeled scooter, and at least one herd of Turki sheep, which followed the road for a hundred yards before diverting to a pasture area.

A light rain started to fall as a group of several boys came walking down the road past a tire repair stand, whose owner, Muhammad Taher, had his own take on the benefits of the road: “A trip to a hospital was 90 minutes on a terrible road. Now it is 30 minutes,” said Taher. “For a pregnant woman, that is a big difference.” That is exactly the kind of difference the Ministry of Counternarcotics and INL want to make.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/roads_afghanistan/ 2010-10-08T18:43:44+00:00 About the Author: Jim Carey serves with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Afghanistan.

U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, Minister Asif Rahimi and Deputy Minister Mr. Saleem Khan Kunduzi of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) celebrated the opening of the International Agricultural Fair at Badam Bagh Farm in Kabul today, October 6. Over the next two days, the fair will draw thousands of visitors from Afghanistan and around the world.

The International Agricultural Fair will host 136 Afghan and 40 international venders, showcasing the country's crown jewels of agriculture, such as grapes, pomegranates, dried fruits, nuts, cashmere, and other high value crops and agricultural services.

"Afghanistan's progress in the agriculture sector is helping lead this proud nation along the pathway to development and self sufficiency by helping feed the Afghan people, opening markets, and stimulating economic growth and investment opportunities," Ambassador Eikenberry said.

USAID, in collaboration with MAIL, has sponsored 13 Agricultural Fairs since 2007 to encourage trade and generate business opportunities in the agricultural industry. These fairs help participants forge new business relationships in Afghanistan(tm)s growing agriculture sector. They also bring together hundreds of producers, buyers, packagers, cold storage technology companies, equipment vendors, international representatives, and government agencies to facilitate stronger business linkages and partnerships. Seminars, presentations, and demonstrations will share knowledge and best practices for increasing agricultural production.

This year's participants include importers, exporters, wholesalers, retailers, producers, input suppliers, and service providers from throughout Afghanistan as well as from countries including the United States, China, Germany, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and the United Arab Emirates.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghanistans_agricultural_sector/ 2010-10-06T21:22:43+00:00 About the Author: Jessica Simon serves in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. She previously served at U.S. Embassy Kabul. Daniel J. Wilkinson, who serves as official photographer in the Public Affairs Section at U.S. Embassy Kabul, provided the video.

Uniquely Afghan, Buzkashi, as it is played today, reflects the boldness and fierce competitive spirit of the Afghan people. Buzkashi, which literally translates as “goat grabbing,” dates to Afghan antiquity and is the country's national sport -- banned under the Taliban. Historians debate Buzkashi's origins, but most agree that it was likely introduced by the Mongols hundreds of years ago as an imitation of ancient battles. It is played on special occasions such as weddings, Eid, new year's day, and at local carnivals. Traditional uniforms consist of thick hats, quilted dresses, long boots and strong scarves wound around the waist.

In Buzkashi, the headless carcass of either a goat or calf is placed in the center of a circle and surrounded by players from two opposing teams who are mounted on horseback. The teams vie to carry the carcass around corner posts and back into the center circle in which it was first placed, all the while maneuvering their horses away from the whips of the opposing side. The game may last as long as a week and is as free-wheeling as the Afghan spirit. Though it may not sound that challening from this description, in reality, only the most masterful players -- Chapandaz -- can get close to the carcass. The competition is fierce, and the winner of a match receives prizes donated by sponsors, which range from money to turbans and clothes. The Chapandaz are legendary figures and national sports heroes. Experience is essential, and many followers of the game maintain the better Chapandaz must be at least forty years old.

While the Afghan Olympic Federation has established official rules for Buzkashi, they are strictly observed only for contests in Kabul. In the Northern provinces, Buzkashi is seldom played according to "official" rules. There is no limitation on the size or type of the field, and as many as 500 riders may participate in one game. Variations of the game include a free-for-all version in which riders compete individually, and "darya-yi-Buzkashi," which is played in the middle of a river or stream. There are, however, two rules which apply to every Buzkashi contest: A rider may never hit an opponent intentionally with his whip, and he may never deliberately knock an opponent off his horse.

It's not only the players that go through years of training. Buzkashi horses also require special training in order to be successful in the game, and many people say that the horse is actually more important than the rider. A well-trained horse knows to wait, should his rider be thrown or dismounts, knows not to trample fallen riders, knows how to push its way into the fray, to remain still as its rider reaches down to grab the carcass, but also to gallop with terrific speed as soon as the carcass is safely in hand, in order to edge out the competition.

Two breeds from northern Afghanistan, both known for their endurance and speed, are used for today's game: Tartar and Habash. The Tartar comes primarily from the provinces of Baghlan, Kunduz, Samangan, Takhar, and Badakhshan. Small but swift and sturdy, these are the horses that so impressed Alexander the Great. The Habash is the great horse of the Turkistan plains, the vast expanse of arid foothills stretching from Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh Province to Maimana in Faryab Province that nurtures this breed. A popular Afghan saying, "better a poor rider on a good horse than a good rider on a poor horse," demonstrates the respect riders give their equine counterparts.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/playing_buzkashi_in_afghanistan/ 2010-09-10T17:41:43+00:00 About the Author: Jessica Simon serves in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. She previously served at U.S. Embassy Kabul. Daniel J. Wilkinson, who serves as official photographer in the Public Affairs Section at U.S. Embassy Kabul, provided the video.

Some say that New York is the city that never sleeps…but the same could be said of U.S. Embassy Kabul. Embassy staff are hard at work 24/7, implementing the President's strategy in Afghanistan. Daybreak finds the security teams in position, as always, while landscaping and cleaning crews proceed to their assignments (the Embassy's roses are famous). New arrivees, bleary-eyed and dusty (it doesn't take long on the ground to acquire a nice gritty coating akin to shake-n-bake) are greeted by their sponsors; members of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams arrive in from the field to enjoy the Embassy's “luxuries” (read: the swimming pool); the office-dwellers shake off sleep in their “hooches” -- retrofitted shipping containers that serve as home-sweet-home...or, if they're lucky, apartments complete with full kitchens -- and make their way to the office, some stopping off at one of the two Embassy-compound cafeterias to load up on scrambled eggs, biscuits, juice and fruit -- breakfast, after all, is the most important meal of the day. The Embassy's local Afghan staff arrive via foot, bike, bus, and auto for the day's work supporting all sections of the Embassy and acting as cultural advisors and the Embassy's institutional and historical knowledge. They remain here long after their American supervisors, most on one- or two-year tours, have moved on. Kabul mornings are the best time to get some real work done, before Washington wakes up and starts issuing taskings.

Another burst of activity happens mid-day: lunch. The afternoon finds people coming and going from meeting to meeting, thanks to an efficient and well-staffed motorpool office: "countdown" meetings for incoming VIP visitors; meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss pressing bilateral issues; meetings with parliamentary candidates hoping that the September 18 elections will bring them welcome news; or agriculture working-group meetings to further developments in this priority sector. In the realm of agriculture, the hard work paid off with the opening of Kabul's first juice factory, supported by USAID, in fall 2009. The whole world can now savor Afghanistan's famously sweet pomegranates.

Quitting time ranges from late afternoon for some local staff, to evening, or even much later. If you have the time and energy, it's off to leisure and extracurricular pursuits. While the variety of options isn't overwhelming, Embassy Kabulites are good at making the most of the resources at hand -- a typical week may see yoga classes, a volleyball or dodgeball tournament, trivia night, a stroll over to ISAF headquarters for pizza, a farewell gathering at the Embassy's Duck 'N Cover watering hole, dinner in town with local contacts, an official reception hosted by one of the five Ambassadors, or a night on the couch with the latest Netflix.

And then it's time to do it all again tomorrow…]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/twenty-four_hours_kabul/ 2010-08-12T22:53:18+00:00
Secretary Clinton said, "These men and women were in the region to deliver free medical care to impoverished Afghan villagers. They were doctors, dentists, translators, and technicians, and their mission was solely humanitarian and wholly independent from that of any government. Before their deaths, they had spent several days treating cataracts and other eye conditions in Nuristan Province. At their next stop, they planned to run a dental clinic and offer maternal and infant health care. They were unarmed. They were not being paid for their services. They had traveled to this part of Afghanistan because they wanted to help people in need. They were guests of the Afghan people.

"At least two of the Americans had worked in Afghanistan for more than 30 years. They had worked under Soviet occupation. They had worked under the most difficult circumstances of internal conflict among various sectors of the country led by warlords, and they had worked under the Taliban time."

The Secretary continued, "We are heartbroken by the loss of these heroic, generous people. And we condemn in the strongest possible terms these vicious murders. We also condemn the Taliban's transparent attempt to justify the unjustifiable by making false accusations about these aid workers' activities in Afghanistan.

"Terror has no religion, and these acts are rejected by people all over the world, including by countless Muslims here in our country, in Afghanistan, and everywhere else. As President Obama said in Cairo, the Quran teaches that taking one innocent life is like killing all humanity, and saving one innocent life is like saving all humanity. With these murders, the Taliban have shown us yet another example of the lengths to which they will go to advance their twisted ideology. Their cruelty is well-documented. Members of the Taliban have assassinated tribal elders, thrown acid in the face of young girls on the way to or from school, and earlier this summer, they accused a 7-year-old boy of being a spy and then hanged him."

Secretary Clinton concluded, "The murdered medical volunteers, as well as the volunteers from many nations and the international coalition working to establish stability in Afghanistan, represent exactly what the Taliban stands against: a future of peace, freedom, opportunity, and openness, in which all Afghans can live and work together in safety, free from terror.

"That is what the government and people of Afghanistan are working to achieve, that is what we are working to help them to achieve. As determined as the extremists are to spread their destructive view of the world, the Afghan people, along with their partners, including the United States, are determined to stop them. So as we mourn the loss of these brave aid workers, we will continue with our own efforts, and we will be inspired by their heroism, their compassion, and their love for the Afghan people."

Read the Secretary's full remarks here.

Related Entry: Killing of Medical Aid Workers in Afghanistan]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/relief_workers_afghanistan/ 2010-08-09T21:38:53+00:00 said:

"These men and women were in the region to deliver free medical care to impoverished Afghan villagers, according to the NGO they were working with. They were doctors, nurses, and medical technicians, and their mission was humanitarian and wholly independent from that of any government. Before their deaths, they had spent several days treating cataracts and other eye conditions in the Nuristan Province. At their next stop, they planned to run a dental clinic and offer maternal and infant health care. They were unarmed. They were not being paid for their services. They had traveled to this distant part of the world because they wanted to help people in need. They were guests of the Afghan people.

"The Taliban stopped them on a remote road on their journey from Nuristan, led them into a forest, robbed them, and killed them.

"We are heartbroken by the loss of these heroic, generous people. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this senseless act. We also condemn the Taliban's transparent attempt to justify the unjustifiable by making false accusations about their activities in Afghanistan.

"Terror has no religion, and these acts are rejected by people all over the world, including by Muslims here in the United States. The Taliban's cruelty is well-documented. Its members have assassinated tribal elders and thrown acid in the face of young girls. Earlier this summer, they accused a 7-year-old boy of spying and hung him. With these killings, they have shown us yet another example of the lengths to which they will go to advance their twisted ideology.

"The murdered medical aid workers, as well as the volunteers from many nations and the international coalition working to establish stability in Afghanistan, represent exactly what the Taliban stands against: a future of peace, freedom, opportunity, and openness, where all Afghans can live and work together in harmony, free from terror.

"That is what we are working to achieve in Afghanistan, in partnership with the Afghan people. As we mourn the loss of these aid workers, we will continue with our own efforts, inspired by their example."

In Kabul, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry said:

"The United States is shocked and saddened by the killing of 10 medical aid workers -- including Americans, Afghans and others -- in the remote forests of Badakhshan Province.

"Our Consular personnel and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agents assigned to the United States Embassy in Kabul, alongside Afghan counterparts and representatives of the United Kingdom and German Embassies, are now working to identify the victims of this very tragic attack.

"Our hearts go out to the families and the friends of those who lost loved ones in this heart-wrenching incident. I will be making a call later today to Mr. Dirk Frans, the Executive Director of the International Assistance Mission -- Afghanistan, to express condolences on behalf of all Americans.

"Militant, extremist Taliban have claimed responsibility for these killings. We do not know whether they are responsible or simply taking credit for the cowardly and despicable acts of others.

"The Taliban has called this group of medical aid workers spies and proselytizers. They were no such thing. These were selfless volunteers who devoted themselves to providing free and much-needed healthcare to Afghans in the most remote and difficult parts of your country.

"Their murder demonstrates the absolute disregard that terrorist-inspired Taliban and other insurgents have for your health, have for your security and have for your opportunity. They don't care about your future. They only care about themselves and their own ideology.

"As we mourn the loss of these very brave men and women, we draw courage and inspiration from their example. The United States of America will continue standing with our Afghan partners. We are with you, working towards the day that you are no longer subject to the threat, the violence and the intimidation of such twisted terrorist groups."

Watch Ambassador Eikenberry's statement here.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/medical_aid_workers_afghanistan/ 2010-08-08T17:43:06+00:00 About the Author: Marsha Michel serves as a USAID field officer and FET coordinator with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Farah, Afghanistan.

With their head scarves properly wrapped, members of the Female Engagement Team (FET) of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Farah, along with their female interpreter, Nasrin, travel on July 10, 2010, to a building where they assist in conducting an all-women's shura with nearly 60 local women from the Shib Koh district in Farah Province, Afghanistan.

The women are representatives from the six-member FET of PRT Farah. Their mission is to help the provincial government build capacity and opportunity for Afghan women by hosting and attending women's shuras and coordinating with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) officials to find solutions to the issues the Afghan women raise. The members of the team themselves exemplify the diversity and uniqueness the FET represents: the team is comprised of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) field officer, three U.S. Navy Petty Officers, a U.S. Army Sergeant and a U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant.

“We epitomize diversity. We vary ethnically, occupationally and in lifestyles, so I think our differences make it easy for women to relate to at least one of us,” said U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Christine A. Darius of Virginia Beach, Virginia, FET Officer-in-Charge.

The opportunity for the shura arose when I received a ground-breaking request from Abdul Haidari, the Shib Koh district sub-governor: he wanted to gather the women in his district to conduct a female-only shura to address their issues and concerns.

“This is the first time that the PRT has come to our district to meet with just the women. We hope that this meeting will be the start of something new,” said Haidari.

The request by an official of GIRoA to not only create an opportunity for women to speak freely among themselves, but also to have their voices heard by their government, represents meaningful progress toward the improvement of women's rights.

“Initially, explaining that our intent was to evaluate the communities concerns rather than individual needs was a challenge. But eventually they understood it, and our next shura will be focused on the solutions they come up with that address the women's issues,” said Dalagelis, FET member from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The turnout of local women was extraordinary. To make it from one side of the interior building to the other, one had to carefully weave through a crowd of women. Promoted through word of mouth, the news of the shura spread quickly throughout the district, and the turnout was such that women had to sit on each others' laps to make room for the entire group. Some women had to peek their heads through open windows of the building in order to participate.

The issues and concerns addressed at the shura will be forwarded to Haidari, who has the ability to authorize the specific changes requested by the women based on his authority as sub-governor. Issues that can't be resolved at the district level will be directed to the provincial level if necessary.

In addition to the all-women's shura, PRT Farah also assessed an all-girls school which is currently under development by the Education Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP) in the village of Farib, located in Shib Koh. The project, which receives funding through the World Bank, will provide a schoolhouse for girls living in the area, so that they can receive proper education.

The Farah FET plans to assist GIRoA in conducting similar shuras in neighbouring districts, hoping the success of the shura in Shib Koh will spread to the rest of the province. By fostering action and the resolution of issues at the community level, by the members of those communities, it is hoped that the need for the FET's presence will eventually diminish. The goal of the FET is to empower women to address their issues directly with their GIRoA officials. Obstacles to women's rights in the country have long been overlooked, but the FET's work could prove to be an important link which will help connect women to their government.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/prt_female_engagement_team_afghanistan/ 2010-07-30T21:22:13+00:00 About the Author: John R. Groch serves as Assistant Information Officer at U.S. Embassy Kabul.

On July 22, the governments of the United States and Afghanistan signed a debt relief agreement that cancels 100 percent of Afghanistan's existing debt with the United States. The total amount of debt being cancelled is $108 million. The signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Finance, where Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry signed on behalf of the Government of the United States and Minister of Finance Omar Zakhilwal signed on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ambassador Eikenberry noted that "debt relief is crucial to Afghanistan's broader poverty reduction program, as it will allow the Afghan Government to spend more of its future resources in such sectors as health and education which improve the lives of the Afghan people." Those efforts, in turn, will strengthen Afghanistan's domestic economy, making them "an integral element of the Afghan Government's mission to provide a safe, stable, and prosperous environment for Afghans throughout the country."

Minister Zakhiwal agreed that today's agreement is a significant step in Afghanistan's continuing progress. "On behalf of our people, I would like to thank the United States for its generous assistance to Afghanistan. This cancellation frees us from the burden of debt, allowing us to focus our resources on providing security and development to our people."

Today's agreement represents the culmination of a process that began in 2007, when Afghanistan first began its debt relief program under the IMF/World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HPIC). Afghanistan completed its HIPC Initiative program in January, marking an important step on the country's road to economic sustainability and reflecting the international community's acknowledgment of Afghanistan's progress in economic reform. Afghanistan's debt relief under HIPC is an important element of a broader international debt relief program that will ultimately forgive over $11 billion (96%) of Afghanistan's external debt.
]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/u.s._afghanistan_debt_relief/ 2010-07-22T19:46:47+00:00 About the Author: James O'Gara is an INL Advisor in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

The governments of countries that produce or transit drugs have gradually faced up to their narcotics problems, prompted in part by the adverse social effects as drug production is siphoned off for local use. Epidemiological studies are still in progress, but it would appear that Afghanistan is no exception to this trend: Most experts agree that injection drug use is a growing problem in that country, as is the common practice of giving opiates to sick or distressed children to quiet them.

The Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is helping Afghanistan tackle its drug problem from the “demand side.” It funds a network of treatment clinics in Afghanistan, including Kandahar City's Wadan Center, a clinic with both inpatient and outpatient operations. Additional funding helped double Wadan's inpatient capacity in April, 2009, to 20 beds.

Wadan is located less than a block from Kandahar City's National Directorate of Security headquarters. This would seem to put it in a very safe area of the city, but suicide bombers have slipped through the security cordon. Multiple car bombs in this area killed 40 Afghans in August 2009 --though none, thankfully, at Wadan.

For this visit, INL officers from U.S. Embassy Kabul and nearby Kandahar Airfield suit up for the drive, wearing body armor and tucking themselves inside special up-armored pickup trucks designed to be less conspicuous than the more commonly-used armored vehicles. Today, the General in charge of the nearby regional police training center has loaned us two pickups complete with uniformed Afghan National Police (ANP) escorts. They stand in the back of the pickup truck gesticulating wildly for oncoming traffic to yield the right of way.

One of the police vehicles makes a sudden stop -- and our truck, weighted down with armor plating, is unable to brake in time, resulting in a minor collision. The policeman who had been standing in the bed of the pickup truck directing traffic disappears below the tailgate. A moment later, he is back on his feet, smiling broadly back at us. Shortly afterwards, we arrive at Wadan.

Dr. Mujeeb Ahmed is Wadan's gracious and engaging director, willing to break away from his rounds to explain Wadan's treatment protocol to our group of visiting INL staff.

Patients are admitted to the Wadan Center for 45 days of highly structured living. “We have them get up at 4:15 a.m. for the fajr prayer,” says Dr. Mujeeb. “They end their day after the aisha prayer and go to bed by 10:30 p.m.”

In between, the men have a busy day (all Wadan's residents are men; a separate, home-based program addresses the needs of Kandahar's female opiate addicts). “The patients attend lectures throughout the day on personal hygiene, HIV, sexually-transmitted diseases, and misconceptions about relapse,” Dr. Mujeeb says. “They get medical checkups, they exercise, and they participate in group therapy sessions. They have their meals, attend prayers and have tea time.” Patients also receive vocational instruction in fields such as motorcycle repair and tailoring.

Graduates receive follow-up visits at home for up to a year. Dr. Mujeeb stresses the importance of family: “The role of the family is so important,” he says. “When the family supports the patient, we find that relapse rates are reduced.”

After discussion and a brief tour, Dr. Mujeeb offers his visitors lunch. We look to the Personal Security Detail lead, who looks at his watch and grimaces slightly. Lunch will have to wait for another visit.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/drugs_afghanistan_wadan_center/ 2010-07-15T16:01:37+00:00 About the Author: Ted Kanamine serves as the Senior Planner and Infrastructure Advisor in the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization.

Deploying to Afghanistan necessitates being able to operate and execute a mission in an austere and very stressful environment. In order to sufficiently prepare members entering into unique and challenging field locations, where they often work in very close coordination with the U.S. military, deploying civilians are required to expand upon their usual classroom-based courses by participating in joint civil-military, exercise-based training in Muscatatuck, Indiana.

Designed by the Department of State and the Department of Defense and managed with the support of the Foreign Service Institute and the Indiana National Guard, the week-long course in Muscatatuck simulates full immersion into a military forward operating base in Afghanistan. Through realistic role-playing exercises with Afghans, civilian students from many different government agencies not only become familiar with the Afghan culture and the myriad of stakeholders that will be key to their mission, but they develop an important awareness of what living and working with military members in a non-permissive, tactical environment is like.

Subject matter experts (SMEs), civilians from a range of different U.S. Government agencies, including individuals from State's Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction & Stabilization (S/CRS), who have recently returned from Afghanistan, provide students unique pre-deployment preparation and training by teaching them how to realistically engage Afghan officials and function in a variety of military tactical situations. Ongoing participation of these returning members offers students access to the most current information and most useful advice so they can effectively navigate Muscatatuck's realistic simulations and, eventually, succeed in the field.

During training, students also learn what civilian-military planning and coordination really entail. As students practice acting in an integrated command team, they must address issues from both the military's security perspective and the civilian's governance and development priorities in order to collaboratively plan how to execute the mission and effectively partner with their Afghan counterparts on the ground. During these simulations, students have the unique opportunity to learn the challenges of coordinated planning and the importance of adapting and/or re-shaping perspectives in accordance with U.S. objectives in order to develop solutions and empower the Afghan government to provide security and economic development in Afghanistan.

As of April 2010, more than 300 civilians from State, USAID, Agriculture, Treasury, and Justice have been trained at Muscatatuck. The July 4 Washington Post Magazine profiles a USAID employee who is participating in civ-mil training at Muscatatuck in preparation for deploying to Afghanistan. The article can be found here.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/training_muscatatuck/ 2010-07-14T18:26:46+00:00 Richard Holbrooke spoke to the press about the upcoming Kabul Conference. Ambassador Holbrooke said:

"I leave again tomorrow for Germany, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and London on the way back.... In Germany, I'm going to meet with the coordinator for the international special representatives for Afghanistan and Pakistan group, Michael Steiner, who coordinates internationally and does a wonderful job. This is a very important organization which has grown from zero 15 months ago to somewhere around 35 counterparts now. It's an extraordinary organization because it has no formal mandate, and yet it is functioning, meeting regularly. We met in Madrid in May and we will meet again in Italy in the fall. And we have moved around the world. We met in Abu Dhabi in January. And this group has proved to be an indispensible vehicle for coordinating civilian programs.

"Now, it doesn't have the formality of NATO, which is a legal treaty organization with a military command structure. But it proved to fill an essential gap in our policy structure. And we're very grateful to Michael Steiner and the Germans for coordinating it. And many of you in this room know many details about it. There are seven OIC countries that are members, and we hope that number will increase dramatically. The seven OIC countries are Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia. And I draw your attention to the importance of the fact that so many Muslim countries are participating in this effort, which gives the direct lie to the clash of civilizations theory, which the Taliban and al-Qaida put out so continually... We expect more OIC countries to come."

Ambassador Holbrooke described the upcoming Kabul Conference. He said, "It is a follow-on to the January 28th Conference held in London and it was called at the invitation of President Karzai. I am told it's the largest gathering of foreign leaders in Afghanistan since the 1970s. It will be an Afghan-led conference, and in it, the Afghan Government has told us that they will present their renewed commitments on security, governance, development, and they will put heavy emphasis on their programs on reintegration. This is a -- I can't give you the exact number of foreign ministers who are coming because I really don't know it, but we know that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be there, the NATO Secretary General Rasmussen will be there, and many other foreign ministers."

Read the full transcript of Ambassador Holbrooke's briefing here.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/holbrooke_previews_kabul_conference/ 2010-07-14T00:48:21+00:00 About the Author: Richard Ponzio serves as Senior Strategy & Policy Officer in the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization

On July 20, 2010, the Government of Afghanistan will convene Foreign Ministers from around the world for the Kabul Conference, co-chaired by the United Nations, to deliberate and endorse an Afghan Government-led plan for improved development opportunities, governance, and stability. The gathering will mark the culmination of several intensive months of careful study and policy debate on new programming priorities and the implementation of the five-year Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) for the period mid-2008 to mid-2013.

In June 2009, the U.S. Embassy responded to a request from the Afghan Minister of Finance and the UN Development Program (UNDP), to facilitate a technical support mission to review and consider options for a new phase of international support to the implementation and monitoring of the ANDS. The mission team, lead by the Coordinator for Reconstruction & Stabilization (S/CRS), included participation from the Afghan Ministries of Finance and Economy, UNDP, and the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, and it consulted partners from across government, civil society, and the donor community in Afghanistan. Following the 2009 presidential election in Afghanistan, a four year ($10 million) UN support project for the ANDS was finalized and agreed to by the Government of Afghanistan.

Upon the establishment, in January 2010, of a new office of the Afghan Deputy Minister of Finance for Policy Humayun Hamidzada (a chief recommendation of the technical support mission), S/CRS embedded three staff members in the Ministry of Finance, joining a group from many U.S. agencies who mentor and assist in Afghanistan's ministries and provincials governments. The team is tasked to assist the Deputy Minister develop a large and highly skilled staff charged with whole-of-government policy analysis, planning, coordination, and monitoring functions related to ANDS implementation. An important first milestone for the new Deputy Minister is to oversee the substantive preparations for the Kabul Conference, scheduled for July 20.

Through an innovative clustering of ministries around key issues of governance, economic and infrastructure development, human resource development, and agriculture and rural development, the Kabul Conference will create a compact between Afghanistan's government and its people to improve development and governance. By further investing in Afghanistan's institutional and human capacities, and ensuring that the country's recovery is truly Afghan-led by channeling more donor resources through the government, the Kabul Conference is the country's first gathering at the Foreign Minister level since 9/11. Already anticipation is mounting in Kabul following a series of consultations held in April with representatives of Afghan civil society, academia, and the private sector.

Kabul Conference preparations have mobilized technical advisors from USAID; the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Justice, Commerce, and State; as well as numerous offices and agencies at U.S. Embassy Kabul and throughout Afghanistan. As a result of commitments made at this high-level gathering, the international community's civil-military planning and broader programming efforts will be further harmonized with the Government of Afghanistan's socio-economic development, governance strengthening, and security sector reform priorities. Ultimately, America and the wider international community's success will depend on whether Afghans steadily assume full responsibility for their country and collective destiny.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/kabul_conference_afghanistans_international_partners/ 2010-07-12T20:19:00+00:00 About the Author: Mireille L. Zieseniss serves as Assistant Information Officer at U.S. Embassy Kabul.

On July 8, 2010, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and ISAF/NATO Commander General David Petraeus hosted a Town Hall meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, with more than 500 U.S. Mission employees in attendance. It was the second time in five days that the Ambassador and the General met with Mission staff at the U.S. Embassy to emphasize their commitment to civilian-military, international, and Afghan partnerships.

Ambassador Eikenberry pledged the support of the entire U.S. Mission -- in Kabul and in the field -- for the efforts of General Petraeus and the military commands. He cited the General's civilian-military efforts in Iraq as evidence of his belief in unity of effort. “You have our full commitment as teammates,” the Ambassador vowed.

General Petraeus in turn stated, “One thing I know is that we must have unity of effort among all partners, not just U.S. civilian-military, but also with our international and Afghan partners.” He added, “We need to make sure we get the big ideas right, the right concepts, and the right plans…. I pledge to you: what's ours is yours. We are serious about partnering with you to do everything we can to support the Afghan people.”

Visit the Embassy's website and Flickr page for photos of the event.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/eikenberry_petraeus_solidarity/ 2010-07-08T13:58:55+00:00 About the Author: Karen Hall is a Foreign Affairs Officer and head of the Administration of Justice Team in INL's Office of Afghanistan/Pakistan.

I first visited the Kabul Women's Detention Facility in 2006. A little boy with an open sore on his face stared up at me with huge brown eyes. He was incarcerated with his mother, which is the practice in Afghanistan due to the lack of social services or other custody mechanisms. I remember other women detainees smiling, despite the crumbling building they lived in. The environment was austere, but the mothers and corrections officers were clearly trying to make the best of it: They had formed an ad hoc nursery school, and the few literate women in the group were teaching the children to read. I was visiting the detention facility as part of my assignment with the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). My Afghanistan posting was supposed to be temporary -- two months, which stretched into two years. I couldn't go home yet; we had too much work to do.

Some people in government jokingly call INL the “thugs and drugs” bureau, and I like to tell my parents I work for the “thugs” part. I'm the “Administration of Justice” team leader in INL's Afghanistan/Pakistan office. Before I joined the State Department, I used to work for a K Street law firm and enjoyed a plush office and a higher salary. Though I now find myself in a cubicle in the basement of a State Department annex contending with sometimes overwhelming paperwork, you couldn't convince me to change jobs. INL is on the frontlines of working with our in-country partners in promoting human rights, transparency, and accountability, defending our national security, and securing the constitutional rights of citizens in nascent democracies. My team receives funding from Congress for criminal justice reform, including corrections reform, which is specifically for foreign assistance projects. That means we can go beyond doing assessments and writing reports, and do the operational work to help solve the problems we identify.

I think that in the time that INL has been running these programs, we've learned some valuable lessons about working with local governments to build justice systems. We've learned it isn't enough to train legal practitioners; we must also create the capacity for their organizations to plan, budget, communicate, and delegate responsibility. We've learned that process reform is just as important as legislative reform -- if a criminal case gets stuck in the system and can't swiftly move from police to prosecutor to courts to corrections, then it doesn't matter how elegantly crafted the legal codes are. We've learned that education is paramount: educating the public is an effective way to inspire them to demand good governance and rule of law, and educating attorneys and judges sets up a framework that provides benefits for generations. And through it all, attention to culture is key. Assistance programs that respect Afghan culture produce far better results, especially with regard to sustainability, than those that try to impose foreign values.

The projects we're implementing in Afghanistan right now recognize and incorporate the lessons we've learned. We've hired twice as many Afghan lawyers as Americans, and are proud to work closely with them, recognizing the risks they take to help build their country's future. We help justice institutions put modern personnel policies in place, ensuring that the most qualified candidates are placed in appropriate jobs. We work with police and prosecutors engaged in preventing and punishing domestic violence. We hire American corrections professionals to conduct nationwide training and mentoring of Afghan corrections officers, not just in basic skills but also in specialized skills such as emergency response, leadership, and record-keeping. We're starting public education programs, and have grant agreements with universities and NGOs across the United States to develop more rigorous law school curricula, to give graduate-level training to law professors, to help improve prison conditions, to develop linkages with some aspects of the Afghan tribal justice system, and to build civil society organizations in Afghanistan.

If you were to take a tour of the Kabul Women's Detention Facility today, you wouldn't get the same tour that I did in 2006. Two years ago, international donors funded a new building. INL provided the day-to-day training and mentoring of the Afghan staff at the facility. The new building is airy and well-lit, and the women and children are living in clean and safe conditions. There is a large bright room set aside that serves as a school for the children. The officers are well-trained, the facility is secure, standard operating procedures exist and are followed, and the atmosphere is calm. I love my job. ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/inl_afghanistan/ 2010-07-07T16:01:38+00:00 About the Author: Jennifer Vitela serves as Assistant Information Officer at U.S. Embassy Kabul.

On July 3, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul celebrated the Fourth of July with a formal reception on the embassy compound awash in red, white, and blue. More than 1,000 Afghan, international, and American guests attended the celebration which also marked the first joint public appearance of the leaders of our civilian military partnership in Afghanistan -- Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry and General David H. Petraeus.

Ambassador Eikenberry and General Petraeus both addressed the crowd and spoke about working together to build peace in Afghanistan. They were followed by remarks from Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rasool who thanked the United States for its assistance in Afghanistan.

During his speech, Ambassador Eikenberry highlighted the United States' long-term commitment to Afghanistan and stressed that, although Afghanistan continues to face difficult challenges, it will do so with the support of the United States and its partners from around the world. Ambassador Eikenberry said, "Today, we salute the friendship and solidarity between our people, and we celebrate our common purpose. And we remember the sacrifice of the many soldiers and civilians of the United States, international community, and Afghanistan who have served in pursuit of the common purpose."

After the ceremony, guests milled about enjoying ice cream, hamburgers, soft drinks, and other Fourth of July favorites. A photo exhibition titled "Picturing America" was on display for the guests. The "Picturing America" touring exhibition promotes some of America's most significant art images to strengthen understanding of America's history and founding principles. Also on display was various exhibits about successful development initiatives being implemented throughout the country.

The 101st Airborne Division "Dixieland Band" played a variety of music from jazz to contemporary and the embassy band performed American classics.

Related Entry: Secretary Clinton Delivers U.S. Independence Day Message]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/embassy_kabul_us_independence/ 2010-07-04T14:18:26+00:00 About the Author: Caitlin M. Hayden serves as Spokesperson at U.S. Embassy Kabul.

Attorney General Eric Holder was in Kabul, Afghanistan on June 30 for meetings with Afghan and U.S. officials. The Attorney General discussed the Department's ongoing efforts to foster the rule of law in Afghanistan and how the two countries can build lasting relationships between law enforcement agencies and prosecutors.

"Fighting corruption and supporting the rule of law in Afghanistan are top priorities for this Administration, and we will continue to assist the Afghan government in creating and sustaining the effective criminal justice system to which the Afghan people are entitled," Attorney General Holder said.

Department attorneys located in Kabul provide training, mentoring and guidance to the Criminal Justice Task Force, a team of Afghan prosecutors and police investigators responsible for the investigation and prosecution of significant narcotics and narcotics-related (such as corruption and money laundering) offenses before the Central Narcotics Tribunal. The Tribunal has exclusive nationwide jurisdiction for all major narcotics and narcotics-related corruption cases. DOJ attorneys also advise and mentor Afghan prosecutors and investigators in the Attorney General's Anti-Corruption Unit and Major Crimes Task Force. DOJ attorneys provide advice and assistance in the development of criminal laws and procedures for Afghanistan and offer operational advice and assistance to the U.S. law enforcement agencies posted in Afghanistan.

DEA agents located in Afghanistan work to establish the drug enforcement institutions and capabilities needed to enforce the rule of law in Afghanistan, including successfully identifying, disrupting, and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations that fuel the insurgency and profit from the narco-economy. In addition, FBI agents in Afghanistan support counterterrorism efforts and intelligence gathering as well as Afghanistan's Major Crimes Task Force, which focuses on anti-kidnapping, anti-corruption, and other organized crime. Personnel from the United States Marshals Service advise and train Afghanistan's Judicial Security Unit on witness and judicial security.

At the conclusion of his meetings, the first for an Attorney General in Afghanistan, the Attorney General returned to Washington.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/attorney_general_travels_afghanistan/ 2010-07-02T02:23:15+00:00 About the Author: Jennifer Vitela serves as Assistant Information Officer at U.S. Embassy Kabul.

The National Military Academy of Afghanistan (NMAA) awarded its first honorary degree to U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry in a ceremony attended by almost 2,000 cadets and instructors on Tuesday, June 22.

Major General Sharif, Commander of the NMAA, thanked Ambassador Eikenberry for his work in founding the NMAA and credited him for its success. "Based upon then-Lieutenant General Eikenberry's request, staff and faculty from the United States Military Academy at West Point worked closely with members of a select committee from the Ministry of Defense and the Turkish Military Attache, Colonel Shner Takbash, to complete the concept plan for NMAA in August 2002," he said.

Lieutenant General Fowzi, the Deputy Defense Minister, then presented the honorary degree and a sword to the Ambassador. "My dear friend Ambassador Eikenberry, you are the first to receive an honorary diploma from the National Military Academy of Afghanistan," he said. "You have played a key role in establishing this academy and as a representative of the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan, I present you with my heartfelt congratulations and thank you for all your help."

Ambassador Eikenberry then addressed the audience of cadets and instructors. He said, "It has been almost seven years since we started on this journey together towards the objective of building a very strong and enduring national military academy. Our goal from the outset was to establish an academy which would provide the Afghan National Army with the credibility and capability to develop its own professional officers who in turn support and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Partnered together, shoulder-to-shoulder, I believe we have succeeded in meeting this goal."

"You represent the best of your nation and with that comes the tremendous responsibility to lead your soldiers in the defense of your country and your people," he continued. "It is the professionalization of the Afghan army that is the key to the stability and security of your country. It is the professional army, under your leadership, that will defend your great nation and protect the institutions of civilian government and, importantly, the rule of law. This will enable your nation to continue to grow and prosper in peace."

The National Military Academy of Afghanistan educates, trains and inspires the Cadet Brigade to develop officers for the Afghan National Army. As an institution of higher learning, NMAA has acquired both a national and international reputation for excellence. Thus far, NMAA has graduated 294 cadets who are executing important duties in the ANA. NMAA currently has 1520 enrolled at the Academy. ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/eikenberry_nmaa/ 2010-06-25T01:52:30+00:00 About the Author: Jennifer Vitela serves as Assistant Information Officer at U.S. Embassy Kabul.

In support of Afghanistan's fight against illegal drugs, Deputy Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne participated in the Grand Opening Ceremony for the new Counternarcotics Police of Afghanistan Headquarters Compound in Kabul on June 17, 2010.

“The international community, together with the citizens of Afghanistan, applaud the Counternarcotics Police of Afghanistan. We appreciate the fact that CNPA officers put themselves at great risk to fight the scourge of illegal drugs,” said Ambassador Wayne.

During the ceremony, Ambassador Wayne announced that the U.S. government's support of $12.9 million to build the compound in Kabul will be augmented with $3.9 million annually for operations and maintenance at the facility. The CNPA's new headquarters will improve coordination efforts to combat the illegal drug trade because now the organization's leadership will be located in a single facility.

“The narcotics trade and its resulting negative effects are among the greatest challenges facing Afghanistan today. The illicit drug trade funds those who stand against Afghanistan and harms many innocent Afghans,” said Ambassador Wayne.

Ambassador Wayne announced that the Embassy has asked the U.S. government for $250 million this year to support counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan. This figure is in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the international community and the United States Agency for International Development to support licit economic opportunities in recent years.

Mohammed Fahim, the First Vice President of Afghanistan, thanked the United States for its support and said he hoped in the future that Afghanistan would be able to stand on its own feet and be an equal partner in fighting illegal drugs. He added, “The trade and cultivation of narcotics is banned under Islam and we should do everything in our power to stop it.”

The CNPA is mandated as the lead agency charged with enforcing the counternarcotics laws of Afghanistan. The new five hectare CNPA Headquarters facility will bring together in one location major counternarcotics and rule of law-related institutions, including the Counternarcotics Justice Center, the National Interdiction Unit Compound, the Sensitive Investigations Unit Compound, and the Afghan Marshal Service Compound.

The CNPA is currently allocated 3725 positions and is expected to grow in the coming year. In addition to the uniformed force, the CNPA features three specialized units: the National Interdiction Unit (NIU) and the Sensitive Investigations Unit (SIU), mentored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as the Aviation Interdiction Unit (AIU), mentored by the Department of Defense.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/us_afghanistan_leaders_counternarcotics_police_compound/ 2010-06-18T20:28:06+00:00
Ambassador Eikenberry said, "I want first to say thank you. I know a vast number of you have spent much of your military careers in Afghanistan or Iraq -- and in many cases, both. You and your families have my own and your country's deep appreciation for the sacrifices you are making to keep our country safe."

He continued, "Afghanistan has been at the center of my career most of the last eight-plus years. Throughout that time, I have led and lived and worked with courageous Americans who are absolutely committed to defending our nation under the most difficult and dangerous conditions. My professional experiences there have brought home to me the truth in President Obama's words when he said, 'Only the coordinated application of diplomatic, economic and military means can deliver lasting success when faced with international security threats and challenges. And that means we need warriors, diplomats and developers to accomplish our mission.'

"In Afghanistan, we use a Dari language term to refer to the close, mutually supportive partnership that exists between ISAF and Afghan forces: 'Shohna ba Shohna,' or 'Shoulder to Shoulder.' I think that term, that commitment to support each other, also applies to the way our military and civilians must partner to bring enduring security -- and the accountable governance and economic development that anchors it -- to Afghanistan. Our military and civilian personnel do not and should not play identical roles in Afghanistan, but none of us can accomplish our mission there without our partners in the fight."

Read Ambassador Eikenberry's full remarks here.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/should_to_shoulder/ 2010-06-13T16:03:01+00:00 About the Author: Tom Countryman serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

Landmines and other unexploded ordnance affect virtually every province in Afghanistan, a tragic legacy of nearly three decades of conflict. The most heavily mined country during past conflicts, Afghanistan's struggle is compounded by tons of unexploded ordnance, as well as abandoned conventional weapons and munitions -- such as the buried shells in the photo above -- used by insurgents to target Afghan civilians and coalition forces. Experts note that as many as 83 people a month on average are injured or killed in Afghanistan by landmines and unexploded ordnance, with children involved in more than half of these incidents.

I recently traveled to Afghanistan to get a first-hand look at one of dozens of Humanitarian Mine Action projects funded by our Bureau's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement. There, I met Afghan demining experts who, with U.S. support, are working to find and safely clear their country of these hidden killers, allowing families to return home and get their communities on the road to post-conflict recovery.

As in many countries struggling to recover from conflicts, such as Angola, Mozambique, or Sri Lanka, landmines and unexploded ordnance inhibit development, disrupt markets and production, prevent the delivery of goods and services, and generally obstruct reconstruction and stabilization efforts. By removing these deadly hazards, we can enable the socio-economic development needed to further the larger goal of promoting stability and security in Afghanistan and the wider region.

The United States is proud to be the world's single largest financial supporter of demining. Under the U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action program -- a partnership among the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the United States has provided more than $1.5 billion toward landmine clearance and conventional weapons destruction in 47 countries. Initiatives funded include:

• Mine clearance projects by 63 partner organizations, such as the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the HALO Trust
• Mine-risk education to help area residents avoid injury by identifying potential hazards
• Research and development into new demining technologies
• Training local demining technicians in affected countries
• Supporting rehabilitation programs serving those injured by landmines and unexploded munitions

We partner with a wide array of international partners in our mine action efforts in Afghanistan, but the majority of U.S. financial assistance goes directly to Afghan-run NGOs, which have pioneered a unique approach called “community-based demining.”

“Community based de-mining” means that Afghan NGOs recruit, train, and employ local workers, in close partnership with community leaders, to survey and clear explosives. It represents a unique opportunity to link Afghan and U.S. humanitarian, development, and counterinsurgency objectives. It furnishes jobs that keep young men employed, and perhaps most importantly, establishes trust with local leaders. These projects are not just outsiders coming in to conduct mine clearance; local residents take pride in doing their part to take back their communities, thus reinforcing local governance and reducing insurgent influence.

Projects can last for several months or more, providing income and economic opportunity to numerous families. Meanwhile, as de-mining progresses, follow-on agricultural and vocational training, as well as immediate development projects can commence, allowing locals to capitalize on their cleared land and an available labor force with new job skills.

Since 1993, the United States has provided more than $165 million for humanitarian mine action in Afghanistan, making it the largest international donor to Afghanistan for this type of assistance. Our partners have used these funds to clear more than 160 million square meters of land -- nearly two-thirds of all suspected hazardous areas. However, vast amounts of land remain in inaccessible regions of the country, as well as in southeastern provinces where demining operations are commonly targeted by insurgents.

The need is urgent and the work of these Afghan NGOs is vital. We are proud to partner with the brave Afghan men and women working across their nation to remove these explosive remnants of war, and improve the safety and security of Afghanistan, one square kilometer at a time.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghanistan_humanitarian_mine_action/ 2010-06-01T18:35:41+00:00 About the Author: Karl W. Eikenberry serves as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan.

This Memorial Day, more American families have sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends in Afghanistan than ever before. I am honored to work with these brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and civilians every day. I am proud of the courage, selfless dedication and kindness I see in them every day. And I am overwhelmed by the sacrifice so many are making out of love for our nation and the freedoms we believe in as fundamental.

This Memorial Day, as you come together across the United States, Americans will quietly gather on military bases across Afghanistan to honor the friends and loved ones they have fought beside, worked beside, lived beside and lost here. At the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, we will gather together in the morning on Memorial Day to honor everyone who died in service to our nation this year. For all of us in Afghanistan, these losses are deeply felt.

It has been a year of heartening progress in Afghanistan, and I truly believe that we are better positioned to succeed than we have ever been. But, that does not take away the great pain we feel over the losses we and our families at home have suffered. Today, more than 1,000 American military service members have died in Afghanistan. Our NATO allies and other partners have suffered great losses, as well. In October, three brave Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents were killed when their helicopter crashed in Western Afghanistan. Then in December, seven of our colleagues were lost in a tragic attack in Eastern Afghanistan.

On this day with such meaning for all Americans, if I have any special perspective to provide as the U.S. Ambassador in Afghanistan, it would be to tell you that I see your loved ones working tirelessly on America's behalf every day in difficult circumstances and am overwhelmed with pride in who they are and what they represent -- the absolute best of our nation. If I have any special perspective to offer, it would be to tell you that I have no doubt that the Afghan people appreciate the sacrifices we are making and that they want the same thing that we want -- a country that can never again be home to the terrorism that rendered us together on September 11. It changed their lives for the worse, just as it has changed ours. Brave Afghan security forces are dying every day beside us, and Afghan civilians are dying in callous attacks by militant Taliban extremists and terrorists. The Afghan people are not deterred, and neither should we be.

The author served in the United States Army for nearly 35 years, and retired as a Lieutenant General to become the U.S. Ambassador in Afghanistan in April 2009. ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/remembering_in_afghanistan/ 2010-05-31T04:20:32+00:00 About the Author: Quintin Gray serves as Senior Agricultural Advisor in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This week, as part of the Strategic Dialogue between the United States and Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Afghan Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Asif Rahimi met to discuss how agriculture can help Afghanistan achieve a stable and secure future. With 85 percent of the population relying on farms to earn a living, improving the agriculture sector is essential to stabilizing the region.

The U.S. and Afghan governments are working closely together to find new technologies and improve existing crops. Just recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made it possible for Afghan and U.S. researchers to work side-by-side at Purdue University in Indiana to identify a strain of disease-resistant wheat.

Secretary Vilsack and Minister Rahimi underscore these points in a joint op-ed they wrote for USA Today. If you haven't had a chance to read the op-ed, you can find it online here.
]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghan_farmers_op-ed/ 2010-05-14T21:28:43+00:00 spoke at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. Secretary Clinton said:

"We have put together on both sides a whole-of-government response. This is no longer president-to-president. As important as that is, or the occasional meeting between the secretary of defense and the minister of defense or the secretary of state and the minister of foreign affairs, we are building a very strong partnership that links together all levels of our government to work on these challenges that we are facing together.

"Certainly, the headlines are about our military and our defense and law enforcement challenges, but we are working very closely with the minister of finance -- and there's been great improvements in the economy -- the minister of agriculture, the minister of health and education. I could go on and on. So the implementation has already started, because following the opening meeting that we had in the State Department on Tuesday morning, groups broke off and went into great depth about the specifics as to what would be the follow-through. And as President Karzai said, we have some milestones along the way. There's going to be an enormous amount of effort put in by the Government of Afghanistan, with our support, in preparation for the Kabul conference. We heard a description at lunch with the President yesterday by Dr. Ghani about how we're going to be teeing up a lot of decisions. And it's going to be the Afghan Government that does it, but we are going to be in support of that.

"And that there then will be an implementation schedule following the Kabul conference. The parliamentary elections will be very important in September. And I met with the women ministers who are here just a little while ago, and there's a great number of women who are putting themselves forward as candidates.

"The story about what's happening below the surface doesn't get told often enough. And the ministers and the president and we on our side are determined to do so. And also, it is critical that we go into this with our eyes open. Even though we have extremely professional counterparts that we are working with on both sides, there are very serious problems and challenges. And that's why, as President Karzai said, the first step in his process of moving toward some peace effort will be this peace jirga on May 28th -- 29th, which will bring people from across the country for a consultation. The United States supports this. The United States supports the efforts that the president and his leadership and the people of the Afghanistan are pursuing."

Read the full remarks here.

Read more about the U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Dialogue and President Obama's meeting with President Karzai on the White House Blog.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/karzai_and_clinton/ 2010-05-14T10:34:00+00:00 About the Author: Kathy Gunderman serves as an U.S. Embassy Kabul Agricultural Field Officer stationed in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan.

During my training before I came to Afghanistan as an agricultural advisor, I learned that Afghan women have a very different place in society than Western women do. I wondered if I would be accepted by Afghan farmers, either as an American or as a woman. I received a lot of advice on how to dress and act, but I made the decision early on to rely mainly on just being myself and letting my agricultural expertise speak for itself. While on a mission to the Kapisa compound of the Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL) with the Kentucky Agri-business Development Team (ADT) to deliver varieties of seeds, I began marking off the variety and amount of seed coming off the truck.

The farmers who were unloading trucks were either politely ignoring me or casting quick sidelong glances at me. I know I looked strange to them, and I was not offended by their curiosity. Some of the bags had split and seeds had spilled out into the truck. As the men gathered the precious seeds in their hands, they looked at them full of wonder. They asked our interpreter what variety they were. He didn't know, so I told them they were sorghum seeds. They said, "Sorghum!" and nodded their heads. Then, with some shyness, they began to bring me different seeds for my inspection. I identified them as wheat, barley and oats, and with each new seed, they became friendlier and started making eye contact with me. They eagerly listened to how I identified each new handful of seeds. One handful was turnip seeds, and the interpreter didn't know the Dari word for turnip so I drew the men a picture of a turnip and they smiled with pure delight.

As we got ready to leave, one of the turbaned farmers reached into his pocket with his work-soiled and hardened hands, took my hand, and gently put something in it. I looked down and saw he had given me some dried mulberries and walnuts. I looked up and smiled, and he smiled back. Although the mix looked less than clean, I ate it with a lump in my throat, because he had offered me the only food he had. He was letting me know with this offering that he had accepted me. It was a great day. ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/moment_afghanistan/ 2010-05-04T22:32:53+00:00 About the Author: Kathy Gunderman serves as an U.S. Embassy Kabul Agricultural Field Officer stationed in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan.

As I made my way to the front gate of FOB (Forward Operating Base) Morales Frazier to meet a visitor, I noticed an elderly Afghan woman, dressed in black, sitting on the gravel and waiting with other villagers to see the French doctors at the clinic. As I again passed by the waiting area, I noticed the woman was lying face down in the gravel in the hot sun, her face in her hands. Several younger men were sitting on a bench in the shade. I asked my interpreter if the woman needed help. He asked some of the villagers, and they said she had a head injury and a headache. She did not have anyone to help her. We requested that the young men get up and help her, so she could sit on the bench. She was very feeble and weak. I asked the guards if we could get some water for the people waiting. I also asked if she would be seen by the medics soon. They informed me that there were a lot of serious injuries today, and they did know whether she could be seen. I went to our American medic to see if there was anything he could do. He asked the clinic if he could help to free up the French medical personnel.

They told us the woman had a terminal brain tumor that had spread to her lungs. She was dying. I told them she was in bad shape and needed to see someone. They said they would send someone. I went back and sat down with her. Her startling blue eyes filled with tears. She said that she had been coming every day, but no one cared. She unwrapped her bandages and showed me where the tumor had grown so large that it had burst through her scalp and was an open wound. She was leaning against my arm, and I asked her if she wanted to lay her head down in my lap. She did and as I held her in my arms, I could feel the thinness of her body and her shallow breathing. She said something to my interpreter that so overcame him, he was unable to speak for several minutes. He finally told me what she said: "Now, if I just had someone who could feed me." A man in the crowd gave me a box of cookies and I opened them for her. She was so hungry. My interpreter brought her a plate of hot food. When the medics came, my interpreter gently lifted her into the vehicle. We walked on toward the clinic to make sure she was okay. I will never forget how she touched her hand to her mouth and waved goodbye at me.

There are thousands like this woman in Afghanistan. No one should have to die alone, in pain, and hungry. If any of us in Afghanistan wonder whether the work we're doing matters, I hope my colleagues remember this dying woman, who taught me a lot about living in the one hour I knew her.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghan_woman_hour/ 2010-04-29T11:29:37+00:00 About the Author: Morgan O'Brien serves as Staff Assistant to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Morgan writes from Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan.

Over the past two days, I've had a front row seat as a cross-section of around 300 civilian and military experts from the United States, Afghanistan and the rest of the international community met for a "Rehearsal of Concept" (ROC) that turned an airport terminal building into a multinational conference center.

Co-chaired by my boss, Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and General David Petraeus, commander of United States Central Command, the ROC Drill sought to dig deep with the Afghans and the international coalition into U.S. and ISAF thinking on the year ahead in Afghanistan. Dozens of key players from the field discussed the details of their plans and programs to promote an across-the-board, cooperative civilian-military, international and Afghan discussion on the challenges posed and ideas for making continued progress.

"Over the past year, we have consistently sought inputs from all of our partners to ensure we developed a comprehensive, civ-mil, counterinsurgency campaign," said General Petraeus. "This event, however, took that partnership to a new level. These were invaluable, very productive sessions."

The sessions were not only invaluable and productive, but fascinating to watch. It was refreshing to see such a wide array of nations -- with a dozen Ambassadors and 13 Afghan ministers and other senior officials, and international organizations -- talk with one another as partners sharing a common platform and common goal. Rather than theory, they looked at what could actually be done in the coming months. Sitting in the same room as a collection of individuals like ISAF commander General Stan McChrystal and President Karzai who will end up in my children's history books (if books exist when I have kids -- I'd continue, but I'm not sure if it would be appropriate for DipNote if I turned this post into a love letter to my new iPad), was a one of those moments that makes you appreciate the unique opportunities the Foreign Service provides.

As Ambassador Holbrooke and General Petraeus both pointed out numerous times over the past few days, the build up to this moment was the furthest thing from spontaneous. Last May's ROC Drill, held at Washington's Ft. Leslie McNair, laid the foundation for this year's event.

“While we identified a number of areas for improvement last year, it was virtually all American participants, something we wanted to improve upon for this year,” said Ambassador Holbrooke. “To get 300 people to Kabul took many, many months -- the planning for this event began during President Karzai's inauguration in November.”

In what Ambassador Holbrooke described as the "capstone" of the ROC Drill, President Karzai addressed the participants during the Sunday afternoon session, thanking attendees for coming to Afghanistan, and recognizing the value of this forum. Another moment I enjoyed was seeing the embassy interpreter -- a young Afghan man whose name I'm not going to mention here -- take tremendous pride in announcing the arrival of his President to the conference attendees. President Karzai's attendance was not just a big deal for the Afghan participants.

“President Karzai's participation carries great importance,” said Ambassador Holbrooke. “We greatly appreciate the fact that he came.”

In addition to President Karzai's brief visit, more than a dozen Afghan ministers and officials representing fields including intelligence, finance, policing, foreign affairs, trade, agriculture, justice, local governance and many others were on hand to participate in the discussion for most of the two days.

In Washington, desk officers often prepare background documents, meeting prep papers and information memos about foreign officials whom they may only know from embassy reporting cables. But the ROC drill brought Ministers Zakhiwal, Atmar, Popal, Wardak director Saleh and a host of others off the pages of briefing checklists and into the middle of the action. I saw these men share their thoughts about how to move their country forward with our leaders and saw the most prominent figures on all sides really listen to one another.

"We spent the last two days with some of the smartest, and most dedicated people in Afghanistan," said Jack Lew, Deputy Secretary of State.

The American co-chairs, the Afghan leaders, and the international representatives all agreed that the two-day event was a success and decided the practice should continue more frequently. "The last two days were so successful that we are planning another ROC drill here, in the near future," said Ambassador Holbrooke.

"We had a very good exchange on the topics discussed over the last two days," said General Petraeus. "But there are still seams and areas for improvement."

At the conclusion of the event, Ambassador Holbrooke and General Petraeus met with President Karzai to deliver a two-hour long outbrief and begin planning for future events, which will include not just an additional drill but also a visit by President Karzai to the United States in mid-May and the Kabul Conference in the summer.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/gathering_strengthens_afghanistan_partnership/ 2010-04-14T20:19:41+00:00 About the Author: Jennie Kim is a Foreign Affairs Officer serving in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Yesterday, I attended the closing ceremony of the first Afghan Youth Congress, which ran from April 5-8, 2010. The State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), where I work, funded the event through its Afghan Counternarcotics Public Information program, in partnership with the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN), and Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC). The Ministers of both the MCN and MoIC delivered closing remarks.

The Afghan Youth Congress, titled "Youth: The Pulse of a Drug-Free Afghanistan," is similar to the U.S. National Youth Congress, where students from across the country come together to build leadership and problem-solving skills in order to make a difference in their communities. The Afghan version featured 90 delegates, including 35 females, who came from 32 provinces to participate in the 4-day event, which focused on the drug problem in Afghanistan.

I was especially impressed by the female poet co-leading the event, and a young woman from Kandahar province, who faced a host of challenges to attend. When I asked her where she was from, she told me, proudly, "Kandahar -- aren't you surprised that I'm here?"

The closing ceremony featured a student skit, a performance of the national anthem, and a reading of the Afghan Youth Congress's anti-drug pledge, which the delegates drafted and signed. The event ended with speeches by MCN Minister Zarar, MoIC Minister Rahim, and INL Director Drew Quinn from U.S. Embassy Kabul.

The prevailing theme of the Afghan ministers' remarks focused on reviving national pride. MCN Minister Zarar told a story illustrating how Afghanistan's reputation had suffered because of the drug trade. While MoIC Minister Rahim called on youth to restore the culture of Afghanistan. "We used to be pioneers, proud of our culture, known for our math and science, known for the likes of [famed physician] Ibn Sina and [artist] Kamaluddin Behzad," he said. "Now what we are most known for is having the highest levels of drug production, cultivation, and trafficking. Isn't that shameful?"

Read more more about INL country programs in Afghanistan.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghan_youth_against_drugs/ 2010-04-09T18:25:10+00:00 About the Author: Andrew J. Shapiro serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs.

Four years ago, Taliban militants drove the entire population of 30,000 people away from Now Zad in southern Afghanistan's Helmand Province. After taking control of the area, the Taliban filled homes, shops, schools, and streets with landmines and improvised explosive devices. In December 2009, shortly after President Obama's speech on our efforts in Afghanistan at West Point, Afghan security forces and their coalition allies, the U.S. Marines, went on the offensive and successfully reclaimed the area. While the Taliban were driven out, they left behind the deadly legacy of landmines and IEDs. In a recent visit to Now Zad, I met Afghan demining experts who, with U.S. support, are working to find and safely remove the Taliban's hidden explosives, an effort that is critical to allowing families to start returning home and bring this deserted town back to life.

Landmines and other explosive remnants of war affect virtually every province in Afghanistan, a tragic legacy of nearly three decades of conflict. On average, according to the Landmine Monitor, as many as 83 people are injured or killed each month in Afghanistan by these hidden hazards, with children involved in more than half of these incidents. This sad reality hit home during my recent visit when we heard a large explosion a few kilometers outside of town, only to discover a truck had set off one such device, killing an Afghan family of eleven people.

As in many countries struggling to recover from conflicts, landmines and unexploded ordnance inhibit development, disrupt markets and production, prevent the delivery of goods and services, and generally obstruct reconstruction and stabilization efforts. When you remove these deadly hazards, you enable the socio-economic development needed to further the larger goal of promoting stability and security in Afghanistan and the wider region.

For this reason, the United States is proud to be the world's single largest financial supporter of demining. Under the U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action program -- a partnership among the State Department, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the United States has provided more than $1.5 billion toward landmine clearance and conventional weapons destruction in 47 countries. This cooperative "whole-of-government" effort is coordinated through the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

Since 1993, the United States has provided more than $165 million for humanitarian mine action in Afghanistan, making it the largest international donor to Afghanistan for this type of assistance. Our partners have used these funds to clear more than 160 million square meters of land.

Many Afghan non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR); Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC); Demining Agency for Afghanistan (DAFA); Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA); and Mine Detection Center Afghanistan (MDC) have hard-won demining expertise and experience. We partner with a wide array of international partners in our mine action efforts in Afghanistan, but the majority of U.S. financial assistance for demining in Afghanistan goes directly to Afghan-run NGOs, which have pioneered a unique approach called "community-based demining."

"Community based de-mining" means that Afghan NGOs recruit, train, and employ local workers, in close partnership with community leaders, to survey and clear explosives. It represents a unique opportunity to link Afghan and U.S. humanitarian, development, and counterinsurgency objectives. It furnishes jobs that keep young men employed, and perhaps most importantly, establishes trust with local leaders. These projects are not just outsiders coming in to conduct mine clearance; locals take pride in doing their part to take back their community, thus reinforcing local governance and reducing insurgent influence.

Projects can last for several months or more, providing income and economic opportunity to numerous families. In the case of Now Zad, we are providing $1.8 million to our Afghan partners, which in part will be used to train 120 locals for a project that will last a year. Meanwhile, as de-mining progresses, follow-on agricultural and vocational training as well as immediate development projects can commence, allowing locals to capitalize on their cleared land and an available labor force with new job skills.

While more than 100 families have already returned to Now Zad, and several dozen shops have reopened, the work ahead to make this community safe again will be a slow and difficult process. Demining of most of the town, as well as surrounding villages, roads, and farmland needs to occur before many more people can safely return.

The need is urgent and the work of these Afghan NGOs is vital. We are proud to partner with the brave Afghan men and women working in Now Zad and across their nation to remove explosive remnants of war and landmines, and improve the safety and security of Afghanistan, one square kilometer at a time.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghanistan_humanitarian_mine_action_revive_town/ 2010-04-05T13:53:57+00:00 About the Author: Anna Mussman serves in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' Youth Programs Division.

Students in Jalalabad involved with the Department of State's Global Connections and Exchange (GCE) program were recently offered $150 to create and implement a small project to benefit their communities. This small grant project was facilitated by the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club Foundation, a Department of State grantee organization which implements GCE in Jalalabad. Nagina Shafiqi and her team at the Bi Bi Aisha Girls High School were the first to complete their project. Nagina wrote that the girls decided to tackle the lack of drinking water at their school: "We spent all day without drinking water in school, although some students brought drinking water from their houses, but when they reached school, the water bottle was too hot, so we thought that we have to solve this problem for the coming summer."

When their application was accepted, a group of male students helped the girls negotiate costs at the market and talked with masons to get the most reasonable prices. The girls and the school community watched the laborers build the water tank brick by brick and in just two weeks they were able to fill the tank with water. Nagina described the project on the GCE website and received more than 150 responses!

Sami Misbah wrote, "Congratulations to all Bi Bi Aisha high school students. Today we start with our schools, and then we will remake our country, Inshallah." Mahreen Salih added that through the project, "Women, especially young girls, showed their talent and how they are a success in society."

When asked how she felt when the project was completed, Nagina wrote, "When I and my team discussed and searched and started the work till when it got finished, by the Grace of Allah, we knew that although we are females, we can do everything if we dare... I now know that I am able to do such more work as this project and it will be my pleasure to serve my society and county's people so I advise to all people to be active and serve their country and struggle hard for reconstruction."

Read more about the GCE program in Afghanistan here.

Related Entry: U.S. Reaffirms Commitment to Afghan Women]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghan_girls_water_school/ 2010-03-31T22:09:44+00:00
"I'm honored to be joined by America's outstanding civilian military leadership team here in Afghanistan, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who's doing outstanding work, and the commander of our 43-nation coalition, General Stan McChrystal. The two of them together have paired up to do an extraordinarily difficult task, but they are doing it extraordinarily well and we are proud of them. Please give your outstanding team a big round of applause. They've got my full confidence and my full support.

"We're also joined by troops from some of our coalition partners, because this is not simply an American mission or even just a NATO mission. Al Qaeda and their extremist allies are a threat to the people of Afghanistan and a threat to the people of America, but they're also a threat to people all around the world, and that's why we're so proud to have our coalition partners here with us. Thank you very much for the great work that you do. We salute you and we honor you for all the sacrifices you make, and you are a true friend of the United States of America. Thank you very much.

"And we also salute the members of the Afghan National Army who are fighting alongside all of you. They're risking their lives to protect their country. And as I told President Karzai today, the United States is a partner but our intent is to make sure that the Afghans have the capacity to provide for their own security. That is core to our mission, and we are proud of the work that they are doing and the continuing increased capacity that we're seeing out of Afghan national security forces. So thank you very much for the great work you're doing to take responsibility for security here in your own country.

"And to the Afghan people, I want to say that I'm honored to be a guest in your country. Now, the Afghans have suffered for decades -- decades of war. But we are here to help Afghans forge a hard-won peace while realizing the extraordinary potential of the Afghan people, Afghanistan's sons and daughters, from the soldiers and the police to the farmers and the young students. And we want to build a lasting partnership founded upon mutual interests and mutual respect, and I'm looking forward to returning to Afghanistan many times in the years to come." Full Text

Read more on the White House Blog.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/president_obama_in_afghanistan/ 2010-03-28T23:40:46+00:00 About the Author: Dereck Hogan serves in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP). He previously served on Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Uruzgan and Kunar, Afghanistan.

As Ambassador Holbrooke's Senior Advisor for Governance and Civilian-Military Coordination, I make it a point to travel frequently to Afghanistan to meet with senior Afghan and international officials in Kabul and the field to discuss the implementation of our sub-national governance assistance strategy. I just returned from a very productive and encouraging one-week trip in Afghanistan.

Key security and service delivery ministries are working on a plan with U.S. Embassy Kabul and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters to dramatically improve security, restore government control and improve service delivery in 80 critical districts over the next 18 months to reverse the momentum of the Taliban. These districts are mostly concentrated in the highly contested south and east of Afghanistan, but a number of districts in the north and the west are being included in this joint civilian-military effort.

The first targeted districts are in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province, specifically in the central Helmand River valley. Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and ISAF will "clear" the districts of insurgents, and the most important service delivery ministries, including Health, Education, Agriculture, Rural Rehabilitation and Development, and Justice, will immediately roll out an integrated package of services to respond to the population's most basic needs.

President Karzai has instructed the Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG) to coordinate the Afghan-led effort, which includes appointing strong provincial and district governors and organizing district councils. Even though the United States, United Kingdom and other key international actors are providing the IDLG and relevant Afghan ministries the necessary technical and financial assistance to carry out this initiative, I was impressed with the extent to which the Afghan government is in the lead.

Afghanistan's President Karzai has made improvement in governance at the provincial and district level, or sub-national governance, a key pillar of his reform agenda. Although the Afghan government has historically maintained a limited presence outside of Kabul, the insurgency will continue to gain traction as long as the Afghan population perceives its local authorities as weak, or even predatory. One of the main conclusions of President Obama's strategic assessment of the U.S. Afghanistan-Pakistan policy is that we must help make local Afghan government more visible, capable, accountable, and responsive to reduce the "governance" space of the insurgents in politically and economically strategic districts. Together with the international community, the United States has realigned its assistance strategy to support the Afghan government's ambitious but achievable sub-national governance plan. Improved security, governance, and development in the 80 targeted districts should reduce the attractiveness of the Taliban's brutal alternative brand of governance and, hopefully, encourage the insurgency's mid-level commanders and foot soldiers to reintegrate into normal political and economic life.

I look forward to providing an update on this important district-level initiative following my next trip to Afghanistan.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/sub-national_governance/ 2010-02-17T16:45:08+00:00
Ambassador Holbrooke said, "Our goal is nothing less than to help Afghanistan restore its agricultural sector to the vibrant export economy that it once had."

Secretary Vilsack recently visited Afghanistan to see the progress being made in this important area. During his visit, Secretary Vilsack met with Afghanistan's Agriculture Minister Asif Rahimi, who outlined his framework for progress in Afghan agriculture. The framework includes four strategies: (1) the need to increase productivity among the Afghans; (2) the need to reinvigorate the Afghan agribusiness, the ability to get the supply chain in place to allow the domestic market needs to be met and at the same time to create export opportunities; (3) a commitment to renew their natural resources; and (4) the need to bolster the Agriculture Ministry.

While in Afghanistan, Secretary Vilsack met with Afghan farmers and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) representatives working with local Afghans. He underscored the commitment of all those serving in Afghanistan and honored USDA employee Tom Stefani, a forester who was killed in Afghanistan.

Secretary Vilsack said, "[T]here are many different uniforms that are being worn in Afghanistan. And all the people who serve us in uniform, regardless of whether it's the forest service uniform or the USDA uniform or a military uniform, put themselves on the line to make a difference. And they understand and appreciate the importance not just to the people of Afghanistan but also the people of the United States to this effort."

Both Special Representative Holbrooke and Secretary Vilsack spoke about U.S. efforts to eradicate poppy cultivation and the need to establish a formalized credit process. Secretary Vilsack discussed how U.S. assistance is providing incentives for wheat cultivation to encourage Afghan farmers to grow alternatives to poppy, but Afghans are still faced with tough decisions.

Secretary Vilsack said, "Our effort is trying to speak to the people in the middle of all of this, whose only thought is, 'How do I take care of my family? How do I take care of myself?' And the Taliban, as long as there is opium production, have a hook on those folks. They have the ability to control their livelihood. Given a choice, they don't want that choice. They would prefer another alternative. They would prefer to be able to produce wheat or pomegranates or apples or almonds or whatever. We have to give them that choice and we have to give it to them in a way that makes economic sense."

Secretary Vilsack continued, "To put a phrase on it, from my discussions with regular Afghans, I think they would much rather be farmers than fighters."

Read the transcript of the full briefing here.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/holbrooke_vilsack_afghanistan/ 2010-02-04T03:39:14+00:00 About the Author: Ivo Daalder serves as the U.S. Ambassador to NATO.

The U.S. Mission to NATO may sit in a commune of Brussels, but we spend much of our time focused on Afghanistan -- NATO's largest operation ever and a top U.S. priority. Our job is to engage Allies in a broad effort to strengthen the 44-nation stabilization force in Afghanistan. My interagency Afghanistan Team will be busily writing policy and operational documents at NATO Headquarters and preparing U.S. official statements for the NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Istanbul (February 4-5). To gather ideas, we, along with Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Phil Gordon, recently visited Afghanistan to talk to civilian and military leaders in Kabul, as well as their representatives in the provinces, about how NATO can best support their work on the ground.

My team came away with a long "to do" list, but also a sense of cautious optimism. We saw first-hand how the President's decision to send more troops has inspired confidence and generated new momentum. We now have more U.S. and NATO troops and civilians deploying to help. The significant USG civilian increase -- a tripling of civilian technical experts on the ground in the past year deploying both to Kabul and the field -- is an interagency effort spearheaded by the office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP). From the headquarters to the field, our colleagues know what needs to be done, and they are also keenly aware of the challenges. But while we all agree that training the Afghan security forces is the critical element in transitioning responsibility of security operations to the Afghans themselves, we have yet to put forward all the resources needed to meet our goals, particularly the number of experienced instructors and mentors to help the Afghan police and army grow and become more professional. We left Afghanistan with the impression that one of NATO's most urgent tasks must be to address that gap.

Partnership is not a buzzword when it comes to Afghanistan. As we saw on the ground, it is a fundamental part of every military and civilian strategy. Afghan troops now take part in nearly all International Security Assistance Force operations. As NATO trains Afghans to be soldiers and police, we are training their commanders to run their academies, develop their national defense strategies, and plan joint operations. At the Provincial Reconstruction Team level, Afghan governors, security commanders, and tribal leaders are deciding how development funds are spent, helping identify how to reintegrate insurgents peacefully back into the community, and working to improve the retention of locally recruited police. It will take time and effort for the Afghans to build governing capacity, but each one of these efforts builds a little more expertise. And, as we so clearly felt, a little more optimism.

Civilian-military integration -- an old concept but a new practice for both the Department of State and Defense -- is really taking place. Every single military leader we spoke to emphasized that security alone won't accomplish our goals. In Regional Command East and Regional Command South, at Task Force Mountain Warrior, at the PRT in Uruzgan, State Department, USAID, and USDA experts sit alongside their uniformed counterparts and are clearly shaping what is truly an integrated approach.

And finally, a word about our personnel in the field. Every woman and man we met, junior and senior, civilian and military alike, represents the best of our American sense of commitment, dedication, energy, and can-do spirit. They are inspired and they are inspiring. Getting the strategy right is important, but having the right people to implement it is what will turn the tide. In this respect, we are giving 100 percent.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/nato_afghanistan/ 2010-02-02T20:11:08+00:00 More information: Conference on Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan

About the Author: Amy Carnie serves as a Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic.

"Hi, I'm Amy Carnie. I'm with the political-economic section here in Prague. And we have pulled together this PRT -- Provincial Reconstruction Team -- Conference, in cooperation with my colleges in the Public Affairs section of the embassy and our front office. Our front office in particular has been very helpful in finding funding by working with offices back in the State Department and also our military colleagues who have put forward a lot of funding for this conference. It was a joint effort and it was also in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in Prague and then also the embassies. We formed a steering committee and multiple embassies here in Prague worked with us, and the Prague Securities Studies Institute is the organizer; they've pulled it together with us, and particularly Ambassador Fazelly of the Embassy of Afghanistan has worked very closely with us to bring over basically 15 Afghans from three different provinces, the governors, and also the Ministry of Finance, the deputy there and Mr. Popal.

"So we have a range of Afghans, and in addition we have over 250 participants, and they are coming from 46 different countries to be here, as far away as Korea. We also have people from Australia, the British, the Canadians, Turkey, in particular, and also Hungary have been very, very engaged in helping us pulling this conference together.

"It meant a fair bit to me in particular, because I have also served in Bamyian Province in Afghanistan. So this is a opportunity for me to bring together a fair number of people from the field, from Afghanistan, people that are working in the provinces and allowing them to be sharing their experiences, things they have learned in their particular areas. So I'll leave it there.

"We're looking for a successful couple of days at the conference and we'll see how it then feeds into the London Conference, which is the idea. From this conference, the information passes to London and hopefully those experiences on the ground will help inform our capitals and our ministers and secretaries, as they do their work in the coming days."

Related Entry: Prague Conference Seeks To Coordinate International Civilian Efforts in Afghanistan]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/behind_the_scenes_prague_conference/ 2010-01-28T20:51:57+00:00 About the Author: Jessica Simon serves as Deputy Communications Director in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In Afghanistan, the international community is increasingly working at the provincial and district levels -- partnering with the Afghan government and local organizations on civilian initiatives -- such as building governance capacity and spurring economic development.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) play a critical role in this. As Senior Defense Advisor for the Office of the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Vikram Singh explains, "The PRTs have become the backbone of the international effort to get civilian assistance and help build the capabilities of the Afghan government out in the provinces and the in the district where the Afghan people really see their government and what their government does and what the international community does really affects their lives on a day to day basis."

Senior Governance Advisor in the Office of the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Dereck Hogan says, "These provincial reconstruction teams, as some people like to say, are sort of the soft power, and the maneuvering units, those who are actually involved in combat operations are the hard power, and when they are put together, you have smart power."

Government officials, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and media representatives from coalition countries are meeting in Prague January 25-27 to look at ways the international community can improve coordination of these government capacity building and economic development initiatives through the PRT framework.

Senior Development Advisor in the Office of the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Beth Gunford says, "Eighty percent of Afghans have their common needs dependent on agriculture, and that's why when looking to increase jobs and income for the Afghan people, we need to focus on agriculture."

The Czech government, U.S. Embassy Prague and the Afghan Embassy in Prague are co-hosting the three-day conference that will draw over 250 participants from over 46 countries.

U.S. Embassy Prague's Amy Carnie recalls her time serving with a PRT in Afghanistan. Amy says, "The [Afghan] women that I had worked with there, gave me a small, little token of appreciation that they had made together, and different women had embroided different fond wishes on it. It was a small, little symbol of thanks for the efforts we were making in their province, and a lovely sign of appreciation."

Watch more videos from the conference on U.S. Embassy Prague's YouTube Channel here.


Related Entry: Behind the Scenes at Prague Conference on PRTs in Afghanistan]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/coordinating_prts/ 2010-01-26T21:32:59+00:00 About the Author: Erin Hart serves as Assistant Information Officer at U.S. Embassy Kabul.

Understanding the critical role of women in advancing Afghanistan’s economic and social development, on January 20, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry joined Acting Minister of Women's Affairs Husn Ban Ghazanfar to launch the Ambassador's Small Grants Program (AGSP) to support gender equality in Afghanistan.

The Ambassador's Small Grants Program is a three-year, $27,000,000 program to strengthen the skills of gender-related, Afghan-led NGO and civil society organizations. The program, which works with the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs to provide technical assistance, also provides flexible, rapid response grants to non-governmental organizations that lack the financial management experience to receive grants directly from the U.S. Government. These grants will address Afghan women's needs in education, healthcare, skills training, economic opportunities, counseling on family issues and public advocacy.

"This small grants project not only improves the trust of people in the government, but also strengthens women's capacity and enhances development projects and initiatives around the country," said Minister Ghazanfar.

Five initial grant recipients were recognized, including:

The Khadijat-ul-Kubra Social and Vocational Association in Mazar-e-Sharif trains women to make lace embroidery by hand. With their grant, they will purchase equipment and help train their members in mechanical lace embroidery.

The Women's Husbandry Association of Charbolak District in Balkh will use its grant to purchase 20 milking cows for 40 women, who will care for the cows and use the milk and other products to generate income.

The Danish Social Association in Mazar-e-Sharif conducts computer and English courses for women in Nahr-e-Shahi district. With its grant, the association will expand its services to teach more than 200 Afghan women skills that will improve their futures.

The Enjeel United Sisters Association in Herat will educate women in eye care to prevent conjunctivitis and other eye conditions that arise in Herat during the summer because of the windy, dry conditions.

With its grant, the Morning Star radio station in Mazar-e-Sharif will purchase equipment to expand its broadcasts in gender issues to all 17 districts in Balkh; the station currently serves only 10 districts.

Over the past two years, the United States has provided over $150 million on programs for Afghan women and children as part of its deep commitment to improving the lives of Afghan women and their families. The United States looks forward to continuing our support for Afghan women in the months and years to come through this and other programs for women and children.

Related Entry: Afghan Women Are the Key to Afghanistan’s Future]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/gender_equality_afghanistan/ 2010-01-26T15:06:18+00:00 About the Author: Dana Deree serves as Senior Civilian Representative/ State Department Representative, Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Kapisa.

PRT Kapisa's civilian and military members have been with French troops during various hostile actions, including rocket attacks and fire fights. In recognition of the risks we take together, Brigadier General Druart presented us with his unit's combat patch as well as a certificate stating recipients have been committed with Task Force La Fayette in operations in "hostile territory" and that each is a "brother in arms."

In terms of counterinsurgency operations, we are working closely on corruption cases, other governance and rule of law issues, large and small development projects, engagement with tribal leaders, and reaching out to Afghans throughout the province. General Druart has repeatedly stressed his reliance on both military and civilian lines of effort within the PRT, and has requested additional French and American diplomats as well as development and agriculture experts for his team.

Vive la France! ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/kapisa_brothers_in_arms/ 2010-01-19T20:53:21+00:00 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Discusses Afghanistan Trip | Photos

President Obama has identified restoring Afghanistan's once vibrant agriculture sector as the top U.S. government non-security priority in the country. This week Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack arrived in Afghanistan to meet with Afghan government officials, including Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Mohammad Asif Rahimi, and to see firsthand the progress that's being made in Afghanistan's agriculture sector.

As part of our whole of government strategy in Afghanistan, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Agency for International Development and several other agencies are working in close coordination under the U.S. Government Agriculture Assistance Strategy for Afghanistan -- the framework for advancing this effort.

As Secretary Vilsack said in Helmand Province, “There is enormous potential here for us to stabilize the economy, to stabilize the country and to grow confidence in the central government's capacity to provide services through agriculture."

Related Content: U.S. Government Agriculture Sector Programs in Afghanistan and Upcoming Travel to the Region]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/afghanistan_agriculture/ 2010-01-12T17:12:19+00:00 About the Author: Anna Mussman serves in the Office of Youth Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai recently honored the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club Foundation (LJGTRCF) for its tremendous impact on Jalalabad's education sector. La Jolla Rotarians have successfully implemented several education programs, including the ECA Bureau's Global Connections and Exchange (GCE) program. The GCE program reaches far and wide, involving students in Jalalabad and the states of California, Massachusetts and Washington.

In particular, the GCE program has made a huge difference for young Afghan women. For example, GCE brought 23 young women from Bi Bi Zainab Girls High School face-to-face with girls in San Diego via videoconference. During a recent GCE graduation ceremony, one female graduate student said, "Through participation…we talked to the U.S. students, exchanged our ideas, shared our wishes and future plans and got clear understanding of U.S. and many other cultures around the world. We feel proud and happy now, we are not alone now.”

For such efforts, on December 26, 2009, the Nangarhar Director of Education and Jalalabad Elders stood proudly as their region's governor presented Rotarian Fary Moini with a plaque signed by President Karzai. The plaque proclaimed: "The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Leadership of the Ministry of Education appreciate your efforts and endeavors in the field of the development of Education.”

For more information about La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotarian's projects in Jalalabad, please click here.

Related Entry: Online Conversation Connects Students in Afghanistan and Massachusetts]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/rotary_education_afghanistan/ 2010-01-06T20:44:30+00:00 Listen to Otto Gonzalez's interview with NPR.

About the Author: Otto Gonzalez serves as Senior Agriculture Advisor in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Agriculture is not always first on peoples’ minds when they think of international affairs or winning the war in Afghanistan. But for our civilian efforts in Afghanistan, agriculture is our top non-security priority. As President Obama said, "We will ... focus our assistance in areas - such as agriculture - that can make an immediate impact in the lives of the Afghan people.”

With 80% of the population dependant on the agricultural sector for its livelihood, Afghanistan’s ability to stabilize depends in large part on the Afghan people having confidence in a future that has jobs, income, and provides them the ability to feed their families.

And to help build this confidence, for the first time, the United States has a unified Agriculture Assistance Strategy. Last week, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul hosted a one-day conference for U.S. Government agricultural specialists from around Afghanistan to disseminate this strategy and to discuss the way forward on implementation. This strategy is aligned with the priorities identified by the Afghan Government and will guide our efforts in assisting Afghanistan to re-develop its agricultural sector.

The Afghan Government, last year, established its National Agricultural Development Framework, which identified key priorities for the country, including increasing irrigated land, improving access to farm credit, creating a transparent land lease process, promoting agribusiness education and building cold storage facilities so that harvested produce not immediately transported would not go to waste. Our Agricultural Assistance Strategy seeks to support these efforts, increase agricultural jobs and incomes and improve the Afghans confidence in their government (in particular the Agriculture Ministry).

Despite Afghanistan’s harsh environment, we know that Afghans have been and can again be successful farmers and herders. After all, Afghanistan has a legacy of producing grapes, pomegranates, dried fruits, and nuts that if produced in sufficient quantity and quality can help in revitalizing export of those products. We have seen examples of this already. In speaking to the attendees at the U.S. Embassy-hosted conference, Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Mohammad Asif Rahimi noted that Afghanistan, this past year alone, had exported, 25,000 tons of fruit juice and 50,000 tons of pomegranates, in addition to the recent export of apples to India. This was done with U.S. government technical assistance.

The agriculture sector provides us a direct path to reaching the Afghan people and assisting them with things that matter most, improving their daily lives and hopes for the future, and giving them confidence to reject the extremists. As Agriculture Minister Rahimi said, “The Afghan people will begin to see a difference and will demonstrate their appreciation with the spread of peace.” ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/entires/agriculture_afghanistan/ 2009-12-17T04:22:08+00:00