Reconstruction in Afghanistan refers to the efforts to improve
Afghanistan's governance
Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, social norm, norms, power (social and political), power or language of an organized society over a social system (family, tribe, formal organization, formal or informal organization, a ...
as well as physical buildings and infrastructure following
the overthrow of the
First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. These efforts involved various groups including supranational organizations, the
Afghan government
The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political powe ...
, the
US government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
and other foreign governments,
and civilians.
These efforts also include training
civil administrators, improving essential services and
public safety
Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensure ...
, supporting
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.[rule of law
The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...]
and
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
.
Under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2002-2021)
International Efforts
The reconstruction process of Afghanistan began in 2002. Many of these projects were supervised by the
Provincial Reconstruction Team
A Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) was a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRT ...
s. The World Bank contribution is the multilateral Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which was set up in 2002, by the ideas of Noor Rahman Liwal. There are more than 14,000 reconstruction projects underway in Afghanistan, such as the
Kajaki
Kajaki is a village in southern Afghanistan, and is split between two townsteads, Kajaki 'Olya, and Kajaki Sofla. It is the district centre of Kajaki District in Helmand Province. North east of the village is an important hydro power station fo ...
and the
Salma Dam
Afghan-India Friendship Dam (AIFD), formerly Salma Dam, is a hydroelectric and irrigation dam project located on the Hari River in Chishti Sharif District of Herat Province in western Afghanistan. Since this project is funded and constructed by ...
. It is financed by 24 international donor countries and has spent more than $1.37 billion as of 2007.
Approximately 30 billion dollars have been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, most of it from the United States. In 2002, the world community allocated $4 billion at the Tokyo conference followed by another $4 billion in 2004. In February 2006, $10.5 billion were committed for Afghanistan at the
London Conference and $11 billion from the United States in early 2007. Despite these vast investments by the international community, the reconstruction effort's results have been mixed. Implementation of development projects at the district and sub-district level has been frequently marred by lack of coordination, knowledge of local conditions, and sound planning on the side of international donors as well as by corruption and inefficiency on the side of Afghan government officials.
Infrastructure Developments
One major development goal is the completion of the
Ring Road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
- a series of
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
s linking the major cities of Afghanistan.
On the provincial and national level, projects such as the National Solidarity Programme, inter-provincial road construction, and the US-led revamping of rural health services have met with more success.
United States Efforts
The United States has poured tens of billions of dollars into the reconstruction effort. It has established the
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is the U.S. government's leading Congressional oversight, oversight authority on War in Afghanistan (1978–present), Afghanistan reconstruction. Congress created the Office of the S ...
to provide oversight. This office is presently headed by
John Sopko. In September Sopko said in connection with the effort, "all I'm seeing is a modus operandi that's woefully out of touch at best, and delusional at worst". He also said, "It seems that time and again, people have to be reminded that Afghanistan is not Kansas". He complained that many people, especially at
USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
, design programmes "without considering the fact that you have a tribal government, that you have a criminal element there". He said that although 8 billion dollars had been spent combatting the narcotics trade, he thought the effort overall was an abject failure. More acres are growing opium, more opium is being produced, there are tighter relationships between the opium traffickers and the terrorists (who are getting more money), and there are more Afghan addicts. But American officials consider it a success because they have trained a certain number of narcotics police, prosecutors, et cetera.
Afghanistan was on the rebound after years of conflict had wreaked havoc on the country's infrastructure. The US was collaborating with the Afghan government to develop and implement good economic policies that are long-term, transparent, and predictable. The United States Agency for International Development aimed to improve economic policies that affect the public sector by strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, as well as creating an environment that allows the private sector to expand and create jobs and income. According to the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction report, reveals how most programs were not suited to the complicated circumstances which wasted 20 years and $145 billion of effort "We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan... we didn't know what we were doing." -
Douglas Lute
Lt. Gen. Douglas Edward Lute (born November 3, 1952) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and public servant who served as the United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2013 to 2017. He was nominated for the post by Preside ...
. The rehabilitation effort's achievements have been varied. Theres was a lack of coordination, understanding of local conditions, and sound planning on the part of international donors, as well as corruption and incompetence on the part of the Afghan government.
Foreign Investment
Kazakhstan is providing food and development assistance to Afghanistan.
Kazakhstan has delivered $20 million worth food products since 2002 and $50 million in scholarships for Afghan students to study in Kazakhstan.
Multiple countries in NATO have also contributed to assistance.
Relations with the Taliban
According to a lawsuit filed in December 2019 in the
D.C. District Court on behalf of
Gold Star families, U.S. contractors involved in Afghanistan reconstruction projects, including
Louis Berger Group
Louis Berger (formerly known as Berger Group Holdings) is a full-service engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, program and construction management and economic development firm based in Morristown, New Jersey. Founded in 1953 in H ...
and
Development Alternatives Incorporated
DAI Global, LLC is a private development company with corporate offices in more than a dozen countries, including in Bethesda, Maryland, in the United States; London and Apsley, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom; Abuja and Lagos, in Nigeria; ...
, made illegal "protection payments" to the Taliban, funding a "Taliban-led terrorist insurgency" that killed or wounded thousands of Americans in Afghanistan.
A related lawsuit accused the Iranian government.
In 2009, then-Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
said that the "protection money" was "one of the major sources of funding for the Taliban."
Restoration of Taliban Control (2021-Present)
Following the
Fall of Kabul in August 2021 and the
withdrawal of coalition forces, the
Second Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was restored by Taliban forces. This coincided with international sanctions and the end of many reconstruction efforts from outside governments. This was further hampered by human rights abuses in the country and supposed relations with
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
.
See also
*
Investment in post-invasion Iraq
Investment in post-2003 Iraq refers to international efforts to rebuild the infrastructure of Iraq since the Iraq War in 2003. Along with the economic reform of Iraq, international projects have been implemented to repair and upgrade Iraqi wate ...
*
Nation-building
Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. According to ...
References
External links
More information on Post-Conflict Reconstruction from the Center for Strategic and International Studies
{{Afghanistan–United States relations
Afghanistan–United States relations