Sometimes it tough to understand the scope of what the U.S. and its allies are trying to do in Afghanistan. Then the latest …
Development
Standing Guardian Angel
“Under the Taliban, less than 9,000 boys and almost no girls had access to education [in Afghanistan]. Today, more than 8 million children, more than a third of whom are girls, are enrolled in school.”
Better the Second Time Around
Army Major Jeremy Hall pulled two tours as an Army engineer north of Baghdad – first in 2007 and 2008, and then again in 2010 and 2011. He faced challenges during his initial deployment, but was glad he went back for a second …
The Securitization of Instability
Having escaped Iraq after eight years, now mired in the nation’s 12th year in Afghanistan, Americans are probably ready for a book looking at the kind of missions the U.S. military has taken on post-9/11. They’re not pure …
Weaning Kabul Off the U.S. War Machine
So there’s Mohammed Nabi in Kabul complaining about the half-finished buildings and empty scaffolding near his floor-tile shop. “We now realize that most of our business was dependent on foreigners,” he says about the shop he …
Why Building Stuff in Afghanistan Costs So Much
Here’s part of the reason we’re spending so much money in Afghanistan. Just take a look at some of the pieces of a solicitation seeking a Swiss-Army-Knife complex to house a Ministry of Interior Supply Point, Fire Department, and Uniformed Police District Headquarters, in Nimroz province in the southwestern corner of the …
“The United States will request from our Congress assistance for Afghanistan at or near the levels of the past decade through the year 2017.”
Solar Systemic Failure
It was just over a year ago that a senior U.S. military officer in Afghanistan was raving about the solar-powered streetlights popping up in Kabul:
There is no reliable electric grid here in this city of 5 million people, and so
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Afdanistan: After Action Report #1
“Watch this,” said my Irish Army friend “Seamus” as a stream of Afghan government officials left the International Security Assistance Force Headquarters building and walked through the Kabul night towards their armored Toyota Land Cruisers. They had just concluded a dinner meeting with International Security Assistance Force …
The Perfectly Ironic Chinese Foreign Direct Investment
Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal story of how Chinese state bank (China Development Bank) is pumping $1.7 billion into two long-stalled redevelopment projects in the San Francisco Bay area – namely, Hunter’s Point (a Navy base until …
Building Bridges in Afghanistan
Major James Palmer liked to think of himself as a bridge builder when he was in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011…most likely because, as an Army engineer, he is a bridge builder. Anyone who has had to live without a bridge in his …
Some Egyptians Leery of U.S. Military Money’s Impact on Their Election
CAIRO — Behind the uncertainty swirling around the planned run-off election for Egypt’s new president lies serious domestic anger among some parts of its population towards Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Widely …