Archive for September, 2011
This Week on War News Radio:
Under Cover
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This week on War News Radio: Under Cover. First, we return to our investigation of Afghanistan’s illicit opium economy, in the second half of our two-week report. Then, we learn about a new video game designed to portray decisions confronted by combat journalists. Finally, we talk to the two reporters responsible for our series on Afghanistan’s economy about the end of their project. All this, and the week’s news.
This Week on War News Radio: Supply and Demand
Posted by: | CommentsThis week on War News Radio: Supply and Demand. We look at what drives Afghanistan’s illicit opium economy. Then, we hear from advocates for Bradley Manning, the military intelligence analyst jailed and charged with leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to Wikileaks. But first, a roundup of this week’s news.
Successful Development in Afghanistan: National Solidarity Program
Posted by: | CommentsHOST: Currently, foreign assistance supports all aspects of Afghan public service, from the police force to road infrastructure to farming. Unintended consequences often limit the effectiveness of these programs, but there is an alternative to the standard development model that results in waste, corruption, and conflict.
In the first segment of this series documenting the economy of Afghanistan and the measures required to sustain the Afghan state, War News Radio’s Jared Nolan examined the administration of foreign aid in Afghanistan and concluded that in many cases, the aid does just as much harm as good. In this part, Nolan focuses on a program practicing small-scale development at the community level.
NOLAN: You may never have heard of it, but the National Solidarity Program is the most successful development initiative in Afghanistan. And it’s not new; the project started back in 2003. Since then it has received over $1.5 billion in funding from international donors and reached all 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces and 25,000 communities countrywide. All told, the program has directly affected over 18 million Afghans out of the country’s population of 29 million. So what sets this program apart?
This Week on War News Radio: Unintended Consequences
Posted by: | CommentsThis week on War News Radio: Unintended Consequences. First, we learn about Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Program. Then, we hear about the effects of the revolution in Egypt on its relationship with Israel. But first, a round up of this week’s news.
This Week on War News Radio: Remembering 9/11
Posted by: | CommentsAid Effectiveness in Afghanistan
Posted by: | CommentsDetermining the effectiveness of foreign assistance to Afghanistan is an important task. Aid affects all aspects of the Afghan economy. It funds the counter-narcotics campaigns that strive to end the country’s dependence on opium. It pays for all the new roads and the fledgling railway initiative, which is necessary to transport all the ore extracted by the mining industry. It buys seeds and equipment for farmers and introduces new agricultural techniques. It is used to build schools and subsidizes education for millions of children. It enters the banks to support the currency. It pays the salaries of the National Army and Police, ensuring security. And it makes up the government’s deficit, keeping the country solvent. A recent congressional report has cast into doubt whether or not all that work is completed effectively,, and Jared Nolan has been working to uncover the issues behind the administration of foreign aid.
NOLAN: Let’s start with the numbers. Just figuring out how much foreign assistance is actually entering Afghanistan is a challenge within itself. The money comes from countries all over the world in all different ways and every publication reports a different number. The most comprehensive source I found is the Development Coordination Report, published in 2010 by the Afghan Ministry of Finance. It says that since 2002, the international community has pledged 90 billion dollars of Official Development Assistance to Afghanistan. Of this amount, 69 billion dollars has been committed to various projects and initiatives, but only 57 billion dollars has actually been disbursed to Afghanistan.
