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… more »
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… more »
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… more »
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… more »
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… more »
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… more »
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… more »
It is enlightening to hear of such innovative ways to further positive diplomacy with the Pakistani people.
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Mazhar R. in Pakistan writes:
i must do appreciate for wonderful nice sincere and kind efforts for do help in Crisis in Pakistan made by the U.S and all who worked for that m from…
more »
Eric in New Mexico writes:
"It’s important to remember why we remain in Afghanistan. It was Afghanistan where al Qaeda plotted the 9/11 attacks that murdered 3,000 innocent people.…
more »
May 15: The United States and Indonesia demonstrated their commitment to enhancing bilateral science and technology cooperation at the inaugural Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation. more »
Assistant Secretary Gordon (May 14): "The Alliance is the mechanism through which the United States confronts diverse and difficult threats to our security together with like-minded states who share our fundamental values of democracy, human rights and rule of law. more »
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![Provincial Reconstruction Team base in Nuristan, Afghanistan, Nov. 19, 2006. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2009_0610_prt_afghanistan_m.jpg)
![Amb. Karl Eikenberry and Acting Minister Husn Ban Ghazanfar, Kabul, Jan. 20, 2010. [Embassy Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0126_gender_equality_m.jpg)
![French recognize U.S. civilian and military personnel in Kapisa, Afghanistan. [State Dept. Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0119_afghanistan_franc_m.jpg)
![Young Afghan children take lessons from their teacher in Kabul, Oct. 13, 2009. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0106_kabul_school_m.jpg)
![Men gather harvest in Shomali, a little north of Kabul, Afghanistan, July 18, 2005. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2009_1217_harvest_afghanistan_m.jpg)
