afghanistan reconstruction falters without security

ATLANTA (October 31, 2002) - All year, CARE and other humanitarian organizations have been called on the international community, especially the United States, to help Afghanistan address its security concerns. The organizations contend that without security, reconstruction would falter. True to this prediction, this week the Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended its reconstruction programs around Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-I-Sharif. The reason: violence between warring factions.

"This U.S. pullout from the North demonstrates the Catch 22 in which Afghanistan now finds itself," says Paul O'Brien, CARE spokesperson in Afghanistan. "Without serious investment in reconstruction, insecurity will thrive, and without security, reconstruction efforts will stall. We are in that downward spiral now, and the only way out is for donors simultaneously to invest in both security and rebuilding throughout Afghanistan."

"It's time for the U.S. government to spell out its plan for providing security throughout Afghanistan, and to take action without delay. It may mean investing at much greater levels in the building of a national army. It may mean shifting the duties of some US troops from combat to stability operations, including peacekeeping. Regardless, we need clarity and action on that plan as soon as possible,” O’Brien said.

Warlords are threatening the authority of the central government, and the security of local populations in Northern Afghanistan, just as communities had begun to measure some progress toward rebuilding before the harsh winter arrives. "Without jobs, without housing, without food and water, without hope of help from the international community, many Afghans face the prospect of becoming refugees once again. We can not allow this to happen," O'Brien said.

(Please see CARE's Afghanistan policy brief at http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/specialreports/afghanistan/09302002_policybrief.pdf for deeper analysis of CARE recommendations to donors on funding and security.)

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