Word: afghanistan
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...corrupt ways, was unclear. Officials say the most likely punishment would be a withdrawal of U.S. and foreign funding to those ministries that are clearly corrupt or that underperform. As for development, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking on Monday in New York, said Washington's "goals in Afghanistan include providing the government with the support that it needs to take full responsibility for its own country. That makes civilian efforts as vital as military operations and of longer duration." To do so, she and Obama envision a "civilian surge" of agriculturists, rule-of-law experts and development strategists that...
...enabling Afghans to do the work themselves, without having to rely on foreign advisers. That will take more than 18 months and require substantial investment not just in facilities and pilot projects, but also in actual and widespread training and education. Special representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for Afghanistan Kai Eide emphasized in a frank talk with journalists on Tuesday that the foreign community should focus on a transition strategy, rather than an exit strategy. "If we are to deliver services to the people, it can't be done by international parallel structures. It has to be done...
While schools have been a much-touted success in Afghanistan, the reality is that education and literacy levels are abysmally low. It matters little how many aid dollars are spent on school buildings when the teachers inside operate at a reading level only slightly higher than that of their students. A fraction of the money spent on expensive foreign development consultants or military assets could be invested in nationwide literacy programs with far greater returns. For those who complain that education programs take at least a generation to mature, imagine what Afghanistan would be like today if there had been...
...clear: none of this will be easy," Obama told his audience. "The struggle against violent extremism will not be finished quickly, and it extends well beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan. It will be an enduring test of our free society and our leadership in the world." In a stirring speech peppered with noble goals, firm resolve and idealism, that may have been his most concrete statement of the evening...
...government in Islamabad greeted Obama's speech with "cautious optimism." But, warned presidential spokesman Farahnaz Ispahani, if the U.S. and NATO fail to eliminate militancy within Afghanistan "speedily and in consultation with Pakistan, there is a fear of a spillover effect." The same concern colors the thinking of the military establishment, which will be making the decisions that matter on the Pakistani side. "The army is caught in a conundrum," says Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council. "It doesn't want the U.S. to leave in a precipitous manner, but it also concerned that...