EXCLUSIVE: Confidential U.S. assessments show Afghanistan not ready to govern on own
State Department tries to hide risks of corruption
Confidential U.S. assessments, which the State Department tried to hide from the public, show nearly all Afghan Cabinet ministries are woefully ill-prepared to govern after the U.S. withdraws its troops, often describing the gaps in knowledge, capability and safeguards as “critical” and describing an infrastructure in danger of collapsing if left to its own accord.
The State Department USAID reports, obtained by The Washington Times, paint a sobering portrait about the impact of the billions of dollars the U.S. has spent on nation-building over the past decade.
Phi Beta Iota: Afghanistan will have no problem governing itself after the US leaves. The USA simply does not have the ability to create Whole of Government programs that are delivered with consistency and integrity. The USA also does not have the ability to work at a local level — “by, with, and through” is a prescription for corruption because it is a cop-out — code for we provide money, never mind that we know absolutely nothing at all about anything that matters at any level, local, provincial, national, or regional.
What Congress and US commercial enterprises should be doing right now is rooting for Abdullah and Ghani to agree that the runner-up will be Prime Minister, and forAfghanistan it commit to becoming the regional hub for water, energy, and the Internet, while exploding trade across the Silk Road and through the Iranian port of Chabahar (the Pakistani port of gwadar being both corrupt and inept).
Afghanistan is a wealthy country with a very bright future. The USA is sadly lacking in its ability to deal with reality or make a difference at the grass roots level.
See Also:
