The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: jmyrlefuller on April 16, 2014, 11:43:16 am
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/15/secret-us-assessments-show-afghanistan-not-ready-g/
by Guy Taylor
April 16, 2014
(http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2014/04/15/afghan3-graphic_s220x286.jpg?9d34a70b6b0b659baeaa4a8f4e6e23b1b02d127b)
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.
Treated as a whole, the reports suggest that the U.S. spending has yet to create a sustainable civilian government in Afghanistan and, in some cases, has been diverted to corrupt politicians or extremists looking to destabilize the country.
USAID officials told The Times on Tuesday that the risks of corruption and waste associated with trying to develop a government in Afghanistan have long been known and that U.S. taxpayers must be patient before they see further returns on their aid investments.
Americans need to appreciate that the Afghan government ministries hardly existed a dozen years ago, said the officials, who argued that the government has progressed dramatically over the years — giving all the more reason for Washington now to ensure that the gains are not lost and U.S. national security hurt during the years ahead.
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Too bad, because Obama is going to leave Afghanistan no matter what.
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What should we leave behind? A cruder individual might say piles of bodies.
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I've never been to Afghanistan but I could have made that assessment watching TV and doing a crossword. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know Afghanistan won't be ready to govern on its own for some time - if ever.
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Title:
[[ Secret U.S. assessments show Afghanistan not ready to govern on own ]]
Hard truth:
Afghanistan will NEVER be "ready" to govern on [its] own.
Lesson to be learned from that truth:
Get OUT of there, and let the chips fall where they may...
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I've never been to Afghanistan but I could have made that assessment watching TV and doing a crossword. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know Afghanistan won't be ready to govern on its own for some time - if ever.
It is ready to govern on its own - in the time-honored way Afghans have been governing themselves for millenia. It's just not ready to become another Western democracy any time soon. And that might not be such a bad thing.
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I stand, humbly corrected. blij26