Rebuilding Afghanistan - US Department of State

Rebuilding Afghanistan


Laura Bush and Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky at the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council in Washington. (© AP Images)

U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council Investing in Afghanistan’s Future

The U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council shows the power of public-private partnerships to transform lives and invest in the future of developing democracies. “The Council shows what individual Americans can do to aid our country's humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan,” first lady Laura Bush says. (complete text)

Sustained NATO Effort Needed for Long-term Success in Afghanistan

A moderate, stable Afghanistan is crucial to the United States, its NATO allies and the southwest region of Asia. To that end, NATO is leading some 40,000 troops from 37 nations under the umbrella of the United Nations-mandated International Security Assistance Force. Civil-military provincial reconstruction teams populated by U.S. and coalition forces also have been hard at work refurbishing schools so that 5 million children can be educated and fixing up hospitals so that health care can be a reality. These and other developments have given rise to cautious optimism among many Afghan observers, but sustained security remains key to that country’s long-term success, especially given a recent increase in violence. (complete text)

U.S. Military Provides Humanitarian Aid in Afghanistan

Afghanistan remains hobbled by underdevelopment, poverty and illiteracy, a legacy of decades of war. The population's health problems are acute. But the problems in areas...[of remote] villages, the residents say, have been aggravated by the continuing insurgency and the harsh edicts of the Taliban, whose rule survives in such...places even after it lost control of Kabul, the Afghan capital, late in 2001. (complete text)

U.S. Still Top Financial Contributor to Humanitarian Mine Action

The United States long has been the largest financial contributor to humanitarian mine action -- a broad category that covers clearance, funding for prosthetics, training of mine removers, mine risk education and research and development for better mine removal equipment and techniques. Since 1993, the United States has provided more than $1.2 billion -- or a third of all monetary contributions -- to some 50 countries that are, or were, affected by persistent land mines and explosive remnants of war. (complete text)

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