Nation-Building Elevated

[Steve the Planner]

I'm signed up for a CSIS briefing on the London Conference on Monday afternoon. Two ambassadors will go over it.

State is coming out with a big report and recommendations on Afghan civ strategies on today or tomorrow. Big boost sought---zoom up 130% in civ deployments and activities, Sounds great as a metric, but that means, perhaps, 2 new folks per FOB, with most of their folks taking six months to become operational on a one year tour. A llloonnngggg way to go to extrapolate that into a sea change.

The London Conf is supposed to yield a new civ. NATO czar, and whole new thing (to replace the last few whole new things).

Might be a lot clearer picture on Monday/Tuesday/Friday re Afghanistan.

PS- I dropped my name into the hats for vol. NGO aid stuff for Haiti, but just trying to understand how to bring more warm bodies in that could help must be real difficult for them. Wish I could fly in with a big helo with living accommodations, a backhoe and jack hammers, and a little health clinic and food store in the trunk... But so do they.

[Surferbeetle]

From the 22 Jan 2010 Bloomberg, U.S. to Keep Civilians in Afghanistan When Troops Go (Update1), By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan

President Barack Obama’s military surge in Afghanistan will be matched by a commitment to keep a large number of U.S. government employees there well after troops leave, according to a new State Department report.

“While our combat mission in Afghanistan is not open-ended, we will remain politically, diplomatically and economically engaged in Afghanistan and Pakistan for the long-term to protect our enduring interests in the region,” according to the report released yesterday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the office of Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The State Department’s 30-page “Afghanistan and Pakistan Stabilization Strategy” says the U.S. will focus on rebuilding Afghanistan’s agricultural capacity, countering extremist propaganda, improving governance and reintegrating militants into society. It comes after Obama in early December announced he would send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan this year, with a target date to start a withdrawal in mid-2011.

Civilian Force

The report calls for a 20 percent to 30 percent boost in staffing beyond the 1,000 U.S. civilians now assigned to work in Afghan ministries and the U.S. mission. The U.S. civilian force includes diplomats, development and agriculture specialists, and agents for the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Treasury and Homeland Security.

“Our civilian effort must be sustained beyond our combat mission so that Afghanistan does not become a failed state and safe haven for al-Qaeda,” according to the report.