24 December 2003
USAID's Natsios Hails Opening of Rebuilt Afghan Highway
USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal
(This article by Andrew S. Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, was first published December 24 in the Wall Street Journal. The column is in the public domain. No republication restrictions.)
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Highway to a Better Life
By Andrew S. Natsios
Afghanistan is quite unlike the place I first visited nearly two years ago, just after U.S. troops with Afghan and British allies defeated the Taliban and the al Qaeda terrorists who'd hijacked a proud and ancient people. Back then, President Bush gave us the challenge of completing by end-2003 the rebuilding of the country's most vital road, linking its two biggest cities.
This month I returned to stand on a reborn highway, paved with aid from the U.S. and Japan, and the work of Indian and Turkish construction firms and the Afghan Ministry of Public Works. The new ribbon of asphalt stretches 439 kilometers, linking Kabul with Kandahar in the southeast. I say "reborn" because 35 years ago U.S. aid built it the first time. And once we complete the next stage it will run once more all the way from Kabul to Kandahar to Herat in the west.
The first leg of the highway was rebuilt through the courage of countless people who cleared mines, graded and paved the road, protected workers and defied threats by the residue of the Taliban to halt construction work. The road is a symbol of the restoration of Afghanistan as an independent, free nation that is a friend to its neighbors. But the road is more than a symbol. It allows women to visit a doctor at childbirth, it brings children to schools, and it helps farmers market their crops.
As completion of the highway was celebrated, Afghans journeyed to Kabul for a Loya Jirga -- an assembly to approve a foundation for a new government. U.S. aid helped President Hamid Karzai's government prepare for the Loya Jirga and publish draft copies of a constitution. Afghan ministries already function with increasingly well-trained staff who manage the budget and guide donor contributions. They've reformed the Ministry of Defense, begun building an army, and replaced recalcitrant governors and local officials.
Afghans also have a new banking law, a new currency that is holding its value, and are writing a new investment law. They're rebuilding homes and communities, sending sons and daughters to school, and remaking the agricultural economy. They're doing this despite attacks from al Qaeda, warlords, and ordinary criminals, who are trying to undermine Mr. Karzai's government and destabilize the country.
Aside from bricks-and-mortar projects, at the Central Bank we've trained hundreds of people and helped set up a system to transfer money to every province, and abroad. With the Afghan Ministry of Finance, USAID and the U.S. Treasury Department have worked to improve customs collections and reform customs administration. USAID is working with the Afghan Commerce Ministry to encourage investment and the private sector. We're also helping devise an export strategy, develop opportunities for businesses owned by women, and prepare to join the WTO.
The $87 billion supplemental budget President Bush signed Nov. 6 includes $925 million to continue rebuilding Afghanistan. As Presidents Bush and Karzai said in a joint statement last year, "a secure, stable Afghanistan, at peace with its neighbors, is critical to achieving our shared goals." The new highway we officially completed on Dec. 16 is a major step in that direction.
(Mr. Natsios is the administrator of USAID.)
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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=December&x=20031224091436smadar0.5342523&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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