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Frontlines December/January FRONTLINES www.USAID.gov December 2010/January 2011 In the Aftermath of Pakistan’s Floods Civilians, Armed Forces, and Afghans Unite for Country’s Future Special Afghanistan-Pakistan Edition INSIGHTS From Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah create a trust fund, perhaps we work organizations from working with us. with Congress to devise a new mecha- We must also fight hard against a nism, but it is something we are giv- Western long-term view that interprets ing thought to. every visible need as a driver of con- But more importantly, we need to flict. It’s very easy for a commander adjust our tactics to the input reality. or USAID staff member to arrive in We need to be honest about the po- Afghanistan, spot a dilapidated school, The following are excerpts from the litical nature of conflict and how that and demand it be retrofitted and rebuilt. Administrator’s address to the National dictates our fiscal trajectory. And we But what if there are no teachers War College in Washington, D.C., need to work to make ourselves more to staff it? What if the Taliban are Dec. 3, 2010. relevant and helpful to that reality. threatening the parents of those chil- First, we must emphasize a long- dren who attend? What if you paid a ERHAPS THE BIGGEST term development perspective into the local tribal chief for the work and he Pchallenge we face in areas of con- short-term stabilization and project- in turn used the money to weaken the flict or instability like Afghanistan and finance work that must occur. status of rivals? Your good intentions Pakistan is how we adjust the devel- In our short-term activities and pro- would have now weakened the state opment endeavor—one that occurs grammatic planning, we must adopt a and heightened tensions. on a generational timeline—to the “do no harm” mentality, ensuring the Therefore, we must strive to uncover political reality and military impera- work we do builds an enabling envi- the true drivers of instability in a tive that demand quick time horizons. ronment for long-term development, region, based, again, on local perspec- The type of funding situation pre- rather than leading to dependency, tives. We must respond to the real sented by zones of conflict forces us market distortion, or corruption. needs of those we serve, not the needs into some pretty difficult circum- We must use those funds to in- we imagine. stances—situations in which we have creasingly build local capacity, empow- What we’ve found is that it is gen- to spend large amounts of money in ering Afghans or Pakistanis or erally not the case that a lack of a very short amount of time, because whomever else to take responsibility schools or roads drives conflict. Often we know the dollars simply won’t be for governance and social services. the situation is far subtler, having to there tomorrow. To do this, USAID is rewriting and do with local power dynamics or But spending this amount of money streamlining its contracting rules, long-held grudges. in a conflict zone is akin to carpet- changing the status quo of writing big With this idea in mind, USAID bombing—it may hit its target but not checks to big contractors and calling worked closely with the Pentagon without significant collateral damage. it development. to create the District Stabilization Massive upfront investments can We will increasingly fund smaller, Framework, a decision-making tool distort markets, incentivize power local agents of change, who have the designed to get at the real sources of brokers or warlords to rise, and beget cultural context and in-country exper- conflict in a given area. corruption; all of which can ultimately tise to ensure our assistance leads And, we must remember that how diminish the legitimacy of the state to sustainable growth. projects are chosen and executed are in a counterinsurgency environment. And, in a realm dominated by red ultimately as important as what is So we are looking into budget tape, we’re making the application produced—again, how we do things mechanisms that allow us to distribute for these grants far simpler, breaking is as important as what we do. these funds out over time. Perhaps we down the barriers that stop smaller continued on p. 36 ii www.USAID.gov “I realize that there are among us those who are weary of sustaining this continual effort INSIDE THIS ISSUE to help other nations. But I would ask them to look at a map and recognize that many of those whom we help live on the ‘ front lines’ of the long twilight struggle for freedom—that others are new nations posed between order and chaos—and the rest are older nations now undergoing a turbulent transition of new expectations. 2 Our efforts to help them help themselves, to Afghanistan’s Future demonstrate and to strengthen the vitality 22 of free institutions, are small in cost How schools, farmers, and compared to our military outlays for midwives are overcoming Pakistan’s Thorny Issues the defense of freedom.” war-zone challenges Relief from summer flooding is —John F. Kennedy, Special Message to the just one of several aid priorities 5 Art of the Deal Congress on Foreign Aid, March 13, 1962 FrontLines is published by the Bureau 6 Afghan Mothers Delivered 25 For Pakistan Teen, a Chance for Legislative and Public Affairs into Good Hands to Finish Childhood U.S. Agency for International Development 8 Fashioning Female 26 A Long-term Investment Moira Whelan, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs Entrepreneurs in Safer Schools 10 Show Takes Afghans 28 Maternal and Child Health FRONTLINES STAFF: “On the Road” to Programs Deliver for Pakistan Kelly Ramundo, Managing Editor See Progress 30 Your Voice: Finding Hope Claire McIntyre, Production Editor Angela Rucker, Writer 12 Reading and Writing a Amid Flood’s Devastation Patricia Adams, Photo Librarian Better Future Mary Jane Cotter, Human Resources 32 Pakistan 2010 —The Year Coordinator and Employee Liaison 14 Afghanistan 2010 — in Review CORRESPONDENTS: The Year in Review 34 Voices from the Field (Pakistan) AFGE – Willy Hardin; AFR – Susan Quinn, 16 Voices from the Field 37 Photo Collage Ranta Russell; AFSA – Francisco Zamora; (Afghanistan) ASIA – Jan Cartwright; CFBCI – Heather MacLean; DCHA – Rebecca Gustafson, 18 Interview with Af-Pak Chief Sven Lindholm; EGAT – Jane Stanley, Alex Thier Ashley Allen; E&E – Michael Hathaway; OCRD – Gloria Blackwell; GC – Harmony Wade; ODP – Todd Kirkbride; GH – Sandra Cover: Jordan, Chris Thomas, Jessica DiRocco; A farmer from Shamangan province, IG – Debra Scott; LAC – Maxine Hillary; LPA – Barbara Bennett; M – Lauren Gabler; Afghanistan, holds soil that is ready to ME – Hope Bryer, Jan Cartwright; be used for planting. The USAID-funded SEC – Dwayne Moore, Lorraine Meehan Accelerating Sustainable Agriculture Submit notices, story ideas, feedback to Program works with farmers throughout FrontLines articles and requests to be added to Afghanistan to introduce new strains of the mailing list to [email protected]. alfalfa with higher protein content to Go to www.usaid.gov/frontlines help livestock survive cold winters. Nicholas Robbins Photo by FRONTLINES • December 2010/January 2011 In Midst Of War Zone, Civilians And Armed Forces Converge For Photo by Robert Sauers, USAID U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, left, poses with workers at the Tarakhil Power Plant in Kabul in a ceremony to transfer control of the facility to the Afghanistan government. 2 www.USAID.gov Afghanistan’s Future By Jim Carey N DEC. 1, 2009, PRESIDENT history of the United States—comes a credible, legitimate government OBarack Obama spoke before a with challenges. Development takes presence.” packed auditorium at West Point, the time and requires stable conditions to Thier said that many USAID country’s premier military academy. take root. Implementing projects and programs, under an accelerated mili- “Our overarching goal remains the programs also frequently depends on tary schedule, are beginning to take same,” he told the military men and the military providing security. stabilization to its next phase—to women in attendance, “…to disrupt, For the most part, the U.S. strategy transition programs so that Afghans dismantle, and defeat Al-Qaeda in calls for the military to secure key lead and take responsibility. Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to areas, while USAID and its counter- The AVIPA (Agricultural Vouchers prevent its capacity to threaten parts promptly follow up with the for Increased Production in America and our allies in the future. “build” phase, helping Afghans con- Afghanistan) project is a case in “We must deny Al-Qaeda a safe struct or reconstruct the kinds of point. The project is intended to offer haven. We must reverse the Taliban’s institutions and infrastructure that Afghans alternatives to extremism momentum and deny it the ability help diminish the threat posed by and opium cultivation. Its focus is to overthrow the government. And extremism. four-fold: help Afghan farmers receive we must strengthen the capacity of This past year also marked a con- subsidized vouchers that can be ex- Afghanistan’s security forces and siderable shift as USAID redirected changed for vegetable seed or tools to government so that they can take lead some of its efforts from Kabul to the encourage self-sustenance; inject responsibility for Afghanistan’s future.” regional, provincial, and district levels much needed money and jobs in areas That speech initiated deployment of to reach communities in nearly all that have not seen economic activity an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan. for years through a cash-for-work the country, and also signaled that the The shift responded to a need for component; execute material grants to United States’ non-military response increased cooperation with military farmer cooperatives; and provide would also be needed.
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