MESOP NEWS: WHERE THE MONEY ? NEVER DO AGAIN !

U.S. Spent Billions on Afghanistan but State Capacity Remains Low
The U.S. Congress’s independent watchdog on Afghanistan concluded in its latest report (Bloomberg) that Afghanistan “remains poor, aid-dependent, and conflict-affected” despite the United States spending at least $837 billion on the country over two decades. The report added that the pandemic hampers Afghanistan’s prospects for economic growth.

The grim accounting comes as the United States prepares to complete a full withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan at the end of August. The $837 billion in U.S. spending on fighting and reconstruction does not include billions more spent on intelligence, veterans’ benefits, and financial aid. The report described the Taliban’s recent military gains as an “existential crisis” (VOA) for the Afghan government. Meanwhile, the Taliban has increased its regional diplomacy, meeting yesterday (Al Jazeera) with China’s foreign minister.

 

Analysis
“While the Taleban were planning for the US withdrawal, the [Afghan] government has failed to take on board what a post-US war would look like or apparently prepare for it. Indeed, the Afghan elites have behaved as if they did not believe the US would ever actually leave,” the Afghanistan Analysts Network’s Kate Clark and Obaid Ali write.

“Preventing catastrophe—a complete Taliban military victory and the reestablishment of terrorist safe havens—depends on what the United States does now. Without overt U.S. military forces on the ground, the next best way to avoid the worst outcomes in Afghanistan and minimize the downsides of a withdrawal is through a strategy focused on supporting Afghan security forces and striking terrorists,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Seth G. Jones writes for Foreign Affairs.