Reconstruction and Development in Afghanistan: Part 1

Everyone should check out this article on NPR, the first of a three part series on the perceived "slow pace of development" in Afghanistan.

One of the provinces discussed at length is Bamyan, which you'll recall is one of the provinces where I work. Among other duties, I basically write the budget for the US military's development spending in Bamyan (and a few other places) which, I have to say, is something I'm pretty darn proud to be able to do on a day to day basis.

In fact, if you ranked all of the things that I spend time on in a given week, the road network in Bamyan (one of the key subjects mentioned in the article) is literally be 1st or 2nd on that list. Hang in there, Sayed Muzafar--we're working on it!

My commander (COL Ives) is ultimately responsible for the US's governance and development efforts in our area, just as a CEO is responsible for everything that happens in his company. If he's the CEO then you could call me COL Ives' Chief Development Officer. For those of you who have been wondering--that's it, that's pretty much what my job is.

There is so much I could write about this article (building infrastructure and the capacity to govern in Afghanistan is what keeps me up to all hours) but I'm not really sure where to draw the line in terms of how much I can say and/or comment on. I might (gulp) write something up and send it to me friendly neighborhood public affairs officer.

No matter the case, check back for parts 2 and 3 of the story in the coming days.