Afghanistan, the forgotten project

Sensing their passivity and reluctance to aid the Coalition, funding for improvements in the roads around the village as well as the construction of a micro-hydro plant to provide electricity has started.  Plans are also in the works to repair collapsed roofs, construct a floodwall around a mosque and build a medical clinic.^[xxiii]  For a community without basic amenities, these projects represent a vast improvement in their lives and perhaps will build trust with the outside world.

Although much of these projects are done with U.S. assistance and cooperation, Afghan personnel are given the lead in executing them in order for the people to realize that their government is becoming stronger and more capable, therefore garnering the respect and loyalty of the people.  This is an important key to reconstruction.  NATO is in the country to assist with whatever they can, but the ultimate goal is to prove not only to the rest of the world, but to the citizenry within, that Afghanistancan be a contributing and self-sufficient country.

In handling the difficult problems that are still facing the country today, Kabul and its allies are formulating new solutions to effectively battle the obstacles.  From insurgency efforts to derail reconstruction through burning houses, schools or other improvements to the poppy field proliferation, the Afghans are facing harsh problems, but they have continually shown their penchant for adaptability and persistence.  Despite the ongoing violence, Afghans and their allies have continued the fight against the insurgency in whatever manner possible, through peaceful and violent means, if necessary.  These efforts showed the determination of everyone involved to confront and eliminate these problems before they spiral out of control.

Even when dealing with a loss, the Afghans with the assistance of the U.S. and its allies are continuing to persevere.  Case in point, the Hyder Khan Village School in the Laghman Province was destroyed by insurgents in 2005.  A year later, with the combined effort of local and national contributions and Coalition assistance, the school was rebuilt at the same time electricity was brought to the community.  A security force paid for by the families of the attending children is helping prevent a recurrence of the incident.^[xxiv]  Meanwhile, Afghans are looking for new ways to deal with a non-human, but equally insidious foe.

The poppy crop remains a big source of concern for the future of Afghanistan and although efforts have not been very successful, the country continues to try to find solutions to this serious problem.  The provinceof Nangaharreduced opium production in 2005 by 96% under the mantle of strong leadership, proving that a stable and incorruptible government is essential to reforming the country.  In a span of just five months, Afghan police units have been able to dismantle 10 drug labs while seizing 1,763 pounds of opium and 2,700 pounds of heroin.  Also over 37,000 acres of poppy crops were eradicated in the first seven months of the year.^[xxv] .  Although that might not seem significant considering that the country produced 4,500 tons of opium last year, these actions indicate a continued determination to deal with the rampant drug problem.