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 Home > News & Policies > Policies in Focus
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Laura Bush hosts a luncheon for the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council.
Laura Bush hosts a luncheon for the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council in the Family Dining Room located in the private living quarters of the White House Tuesday, June 15, 2004. Pictured with Mrs. Bush are, clockwise from left: the Honorable Zohra Rasekh, Mrs. Shamim Jawad, Dr. Habiba Sarabi, Ms. Shukria Amani, the Honorable Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Mrs. Joyce Rumsfeld and Ms. Patricia Mitchell.

Rebuilding Afghanistan

The Afghan people are showing extraordinary courage under difficult conditions. They're fighting to defend their nation from Taliban holdouts and helping to strike against the terrorist killers. They're reviving their economy. They've adopted a constitution that protects the rights of all, while honoring their nation's most cherished traditions. More than 10 million Afghan citizens—over 4 million of them women—are now registered to vote in next month's presidential election. To any who still would question whether Muslim societies can be democratic societies, the Afghan people are giving their answer.
President Bush,
September 21, 2004

Elections In Afghanistan: The Afghan People Take the Next Step

On October 9, the people of Afghanistan went to the polls to elect their president, and took another major step in their steady march to democracy. This election was the result of a careful and deliberate grass-roots process that enabled Afghans to choose representatives to draft a constitution and set the rules and procedures for elections. It was the first direct presidential election in Afghanistan's history. In this election, the people of Afghanistan did not just vote for candidate for a president; they also established a solid foundation for democracy as they look to parliamentary elections next spring, begin to heal the wounds of recent decades, and set the nation on a course to peace, national reconciliation, and economic development.

The Election Process: Key Facts

  • According to the United Nations, more than 10 million Afghans registered to vote in spite of uncertain security and attacks on some polling sites and election workers. 41 percent of registered voters were women.
  • The government of Afghanistan and the United Nations formed the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) to supervise the election and ensure a transparent and credible election process.
  • 18 presidential candidates, including one female candidate, ran in the election.
  • Polling took place at some 22,000 polling stations throughout Afghanistan, as well as in cities and Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan and Iran. There were some 600,000 eligible voters in Iran. In Pakistan, more than 700,000 Afghans registered to vote.
  • To ensure that no one voted more than once, each voter's right index finger was stained with a long-lasting ink before the voter left the polling station. In addition, each voter's registration card number was recorded and their card punched.
  • International monitors and support teams from the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United States, and the Asian Network for Free Elections were in Afghanistan for the election, joining Afghan observers. In total, there were 5,400 independent observers.
  • In order to ensure transparent counting of ballots, the eight tabulation centers were opened to the media. Because of the ruggedness of the terrain, the remoteness of many towns and villages in the country, and the need to ensure transparent and credible counting of the paper ballots, it could take two to four weeks to tabulate the official results.
  • A run-off election will take place between the two top candidates if no candidate receives a majority of the vote. If necessary, a run off would be held two weeks after the official results of the first-round election are certified.
  • The United States has worked closely with Afghan leaders and international partners in preparing for this historic election. The United States provided $78 million (40 percent) of the $198 million needed to prepare for and carry out the election.

The Long Road to Freedom and Dignity

We've seen in Afghanistan that the road to freedom can be hard; it's a hard struggle. We've also seen in Afghanistan that the road to freedom is the only one worth traveling. Any nation that sacrifices to build a future of liberty will have the respect, the support, and the friendship of the United States of America.
President Bush,
October 11, 2002

My vision of Afghanistan is of a modern State that builds on our Islamic values, promoting justice, rule of law, human rights, and freedom of commerce, and forming a bridge between cultures and civilizations; a model of tolerance and prosperity based on the rich heritage of the Islamic civilization.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai,
September 12, 2002

Afghanistan was already one of the poorest places on earth before the Soviet invasion of 1979 precipitated more than two decades of conflict and destruction. In 2004, Afghanistan remains at or near the bottom of every socio-economic indicator used to measure human and economic progress, and the country's overall human-misery index is among the highest in the world. One in four Afghan children dies before the age of five. Afghanistan and Sierra Leone have the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

While Afghanistan’s infrastructure suffered severe damage during more than 20 years of conflict, its institutional devastation was equally severe. In January 2002, we found a nation without a viable security apparatus, courts, or functioning ministries—a place where the basic structure of a nation-state had been obliterated. Compounding these reconstruction challenges, Afghanistan suffers some of the harshest climatic conditions and contains some of the most difficult terrain on earth, and much of that terrain is laced with millions of unmarked landmines.

U.S. Commitment to Afghanistan

Now and in the future, we will support our troops and we will keep our word to the more than 50 million people of Afghanistan and Iraq.
President Bush,
September 7, 2003

We have conducted a thorough assessment of our military and reconstruction needs in ... Afghanistan ... (to) support our commitment to helping the Iraqi and Afghan people rebuild their own nations, after decades of oppression and mismanagement. We will provide funds to help them improve security. And we will help them to restore basic services, such as electricity and water, and to build new schools, roads, and medical clinics. This effort is essential to the stability of those nations, and therefore, to our own security.
President Bush,
September 7, 2003

The U.S. government has provided more than $3.7 billion since September 2001 to programs and activities throughout Afghanistan . C ongress authorized $1.2 billion in supplemental funding for Fiscal Year 2004 in advance of the regular appropriation, and in 2004 the Administration reallocated nearly $400 million from existing accounts to accelerate progress in Afghanistan . The U.S. is working to revitalize agriculture, provide security, expand educational opportunities, improve basic health, build effective government, and encourage citizen participation in the democratic process. At the Afghanistan Donors Conference held in Berlin on March 31, 2004 , the United States pledged an additional $1 billion.

These efforts have borne fruit for Americans and Afghans alike. Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven and base of operations for terrorists who would attack the United States , and Afghans have returned to their homes from refugee camps. With the Taliban no longer in power, all Afghans are free of the vigilantes and judges who exacted harsh punishments for playing music, flying kites, or shaving. Afghans are taking the first steps to provide not only their own democratic government, but their own national defense and internal security as well. Thanks to road improvements, farmers can get the inputs and supplies they need and send their harvests to market. Schools have reopened, with girls attending and women teachers taking their places in the classroom once again. New clinics and hospitals are being opened, and women and children are gaining access to the health care they need. Children have been immunized against diseases such as measles, which had taken thousands of Afghan children's lives.

Support for Democracy/Constitutional Government

"Today we are entering the last stages before the Afghan people can, for the first time in their history, freely elect their country's leader and legislature. Let us not forget that direct election of a legitimate and fully representative government by the men and women of Afghanistan as scheduled for next year was but a distant dream two years ago."
Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, November 10, 2003

A post-Taliban rebirth of civil society is underway in Afghanistan. Afghans from throughout the country met in traditional grand councils to choose an interim government, adopt a new constitution, and establish procedures for elections. The peace process to which Afghan representatives agreed in Bonn, Germany, in December 2001 has been kept on track. Judicial and Human Rights Commissions are in place, and programs are underway to demobilize factional fighters in the countryside. Numerous independent radio stations and newspapers are up and running, a journalist-training center operates in Kabul, and a functioning Ministry of Women's Affairs has established women's centers across the nation.

  • Afghan representatives from all over the country came together in a loya jirga (or grand council), in 2003 to choose an interim government and establish procedures for adopting a constitution.
  • A draft constitution was distributed throughout Afghanistan in 2003, and Afghans from all walks of life joined the official Constitutional Debate.
  • In the autumn of 2003, meetings were held at the local and provincial levels to select delegates for the loya jirga meeting in December to debate the draft and adopt the new constitution. More than 90 of the 500 delegates participating in the loya jirga were women.
  • The Constitutional Loya Jirga convened on December 14, 2003, and after three weeks of debate, negotiation, and compromise, it approved a new constitution on January 4, 2004.
  • The constitution establishes a democracy with an executive branch and a bicameral legislature. The lower house will be chosen by direct elections, while the upper house will be evenly divided between representatives selected by provisional councils, representatives selected by district councils, and presidential appointees. Checks and balances exist between the branches of government.
  • The Afghan Constitution creates an Islamic republic with guarantees of individual freedoms, including freedom of worship and rights for women. It grants equal status to minority languages.
  • The constitution also provides for a four-tiered judicial system with a Supreme Court.
  • President Karzai signed a new electoral law on May 25, 2004.
  • To support responsible journalism and the development of a free and independent media, the U.S. has trained 326 broadcast and print journalists.
  • Because Afghans rely heavily on radio for their news, information, and entertainment, the U.S. has supported the creation of 31 community radio stations and provided equipment and logistical assistance for Kabul’s first independent FM radio station, Arman (Hope).
  • New courthouses will be built in all 16 provinces. Six have been completed and nine are under construction. Italy is the lead nation in support for the judicial sector, and the United States and Italy will soon establish with the government of Afghanistan a National Legal Training Center for standardization, continuing legal education, and accreditation for legal professionals. To date, the United States has trained 120 judges, lawyers, and court personnel.
  • A telecommunications system that connects each of Afghanistan's thirty-two provinces with Kabul is in place, a first step in helping the Afghans improve their ability to run their own affairs.
  • The U.S. has helped rebuild 13 Afghan ministries, including the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, and Education, and other institutions wiped out during the conflict and Taliban oppression. We are repairing buildings and record-keeping systems, and training competent managers and teachers.

Security and Defense

Afghan ArmySecurity and stability are improving as the new Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police grow in size. The central government is gradually but surely extending its authority throughout the country. And the U.S. military is helping the Afghan people help themselves through provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs), which carry out both civil-military operations and security functions.

  • Current ANA strength is currently at more than 15,000 troops. Thanks to active retention programs, the ANA attrition rate has dropped to 1.3 percent per month. The central government is projecting its presence by deploying ANA soldiers to at least 16 provinces. The ANA is a disciplined fighting force capable of conducting both combat and civil-military-affairs operations in conjunction with coalition forces.
  • Nineteen Provincial Reconstruction Teams now operate throughout Afghanistan . The U.S. , the United Kingdom , New Zealand , and Germany each sponsor teams, and several other coalition countries provide team members.
  • The U.S. has trained over 25,000 police officers. Five regional training centers (RTCs) around Afghanistan are fully operational, and two more are planned. Germany has rebuilt a police training academy and is conducting training programs for officers and NCOs. To date, Germany has trained 750 border police and 3,700 national police, and soon will complete training of 1,500 more national police.
  • The Afghan government has made steady progress with pilot programs to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate militia members. More than 14,000 militia members have been demobilized in Afghanistan's eight major cities. In Kabul , all lknown heavy weapons have been turned in.
  • President Karzai has begun to remove provincial warlords whose control over large parts of the country complicates the security situation—including the powerful warlord-governors of Herat Province . He has extended central government control to the provinces by requiring warlords to send customs they collect to Kabul and by replacing governors, police chiefs, and other officials who support the warlords.
  • Although poppy cultivation and opium production continue to be a problem, since October 2003 Afghan Special Narcotics Forces have destroyed 36 labs and seized over 35 tons of opiates. The U.S. will continue to support the counter-narcotics efforts of the Afghan government and the U.K.-led international program by expanding Afghan security services, providing resources the government needs to control its territory, and supporting the Afghan eradication effort aimed at reducing the 2005 opium crop.

Agriculture

Since 70 percent of Afghans depend on the agricultural sector for survival, the U.S. assistance program emphasizes agricultural recovery and rural reconstruction.

  • Last year, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported an 82 percent increase in production of wheat— Afghanista's staple grain—since the fall of the Taliban. The total harvest was 4.4 million metric tons (mt).
  • Afghan farmers achieved this abundant harvest in part due to 12,439 mt of fertilizer and 9,252 mt of seeds for drought resistant, higher yielding varieties of wheat. Both were supplied by the U.S. through private dealers to over 100,000 farmers in 13 provinces during the fall 2002 planting.
  • Severe drought in some parts of the country combined with pests and diseases to reduce Afghanistan's aggregate cereal production by 43 per cent in 2004--to around 3.06 million mt, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
  • To improve vital irrigation in this chronically dry country, the U.S. has rehabilitated some 7,500 canals, underground irrigation tunnels, reservoirs, and dams by de-silting and cleaning waterways, repairing stone masonry, and building retaining walls. Over 320 km (200 miles) of canals were affected.
  • Irrigation projects affecting more than 306,000 hectares are now complete.
  • Working with the Afghan government, the U.S. has rehabilitated over 7,000 km (4,350 miles) of rural roads and completed over 600 related road-reconstruction projects, including repair of retaining walls and culverts. This allows humanitarian supplies to reach the needy and helps Afghans employed in the agricultural sector ship produce to markets and receive needed supplies.
  • The number of Afghans dependent on food aid dropped from 10 million to 6 million in 2002 and continued to drop in 2003 and 2004.

Infrastructure and Economy

Afghans are working hard to overcome years of war and Taliban rule, which left the public infrastructure in a state of ruin. According to the International Monetary Fund, Afghanistan is in the midst of a strong recovery. Growth in the legitimate economy reached 30% in 2002-2003 and is estimated at 16% for 2003-2004. The recovery is most visible in agriculture, but includes the construction and services sectors, driven by the international reconstruction effort. Domestic revenues for the fiscal year ending March 2004 were approximately $210 million, which exceeded the Afghan government's goal of $200 million. Projected revenues for the fiscal year ending March 2005 are approximately $300 million.

  • At the direction of President Bush, the Kabul-to-Kandahar highway was rebuilt and repaved--and ahead of schedule. It is the first leg of a joint project by the U.S., Japan, and Saudi Arabia to rebuild the circular highway connecting Kabul , Kandahar, and Herat . This is the most heavily-traveled portion of the road and is critical to commerce and communication in Afghanistan. Work on the second segment, linking Kandahar and Herat, is underway.
  • The U.S. has also rehabilitated 74 bridges and tunnels, which are critical parts of the highway infrastructure in mountainous Afghanistan , and has twelve secondary-road projects underway.
  • Highway-improvement projects provided Afghans with 23 million person-days of labor—the equivalent of one month's wages for over 1 million Afghans.
  • In support of private sector investment, a new national currency, the Afghani, is in circulation, the Afghan central bank is on a sound footing, new central bank and banking laws have been enacted, and a new investment code is being prepared.

Humanitarian Assistance

Afghan RefugeesIn the largest refugee repatriation in the world in the last 30 years, more than 2.4 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan and 600,000 internally-displaced people have returned to their homes since March 2002. Approximately 3.5 million Afghans remain in neighboring countries, 1.2 million of whom continue to receive assistance from the United Nations. More than 600,000 refugees and internally displaced persons have returned to their homes since January 2004.

  • Since September 11, 2001, the U.S. has provided more than $250 million to support Afghan refugees, returnees, and other conflict victims in Afghanistan and neighboring countries.
  • Through the provision of emergency food, shelter, and medical care, the U.S helped prevent a major humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan . Since September 11, 2001 , the U.S. has delivered more than 400,000 metric tons of food to Afghanistan.
  • To meet the needs of returning refugees and help winterize dwellings for Afghan families, the U.S. has provided winterization kits, door and window kits, and other forms of shelter improvement.

Education

Afghan children in a classroomIn 2000, only about 32 percent of school-age children were enrolled in school, and an overwhelming 97 percent of the country's girls did not attend school at all. By the end of Taliban rule, 80 percent of existing schools were either severely damaged or destroyed. Today, the situation has improved dramatically:

  • The U.S. printed and distributed 25,631,000 textbooks in Dari and Pashtu for the 2002 and 2003 school years, contributing to tremendous growth in school enrollment. In 2004, 16 million textbooks have arrived in the capital, and nearly 10 million have already been distributed throughout the country.
  • Enrollment grew from approximately 1 million children in 2001 to 3 million in 2002 to an estimated 4.8 million in 2004, the largest number in the history of Afghanistan. Accelerated learning is now underway in 17 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, taking in over 170,000 students.
  • Over 7,900 teachers have been trained, including 1,600 primary teachers during the 2002 school year (74 percent of whom were women) and 1,500 in 2003. Thirty thousand teachers received teacher-supply kits for the 2002 school year.
  • Since March 2002, 50,000 Afghan teachers have been receiving an in-kind salary supplement in the form of vegetable oil, a valued commodity in Afghanistan . The supplement represents 26 percent of their monthly income.

Health

Afghan child at a clinic

The U.S. is working to improve the basic health and nutrition of Afghans, particularly women, children, and displaced persons. It is bringing basic services and health education to under-served communities, focusing on maternal and child health, hygiene, water and sanitation, immunization, and control of infectious diseases. In this effort, we have:

  • Provided operational support, including staffing, equipment, and pharmaceuticals, for 163 basic health clinics, obstetrics centers, hospitals, and feeding centers.
  • Provided funding to UNICEF to treat 700,000 cases of malaria and provide malaria-prevention education and supplies to 4.5 million people.
  • Vaccinated 4.26 million children as part of a larger international effort that vaccinated over 90 percent of Afghan children against measles and polio, likely preventing some 20,000 deaths.
  • Provided basic health services to more than 2 million people in 21 provinces; 90 percent of recipients are women and children. Since spring 2002, more than 1.1 million people have been treated.
  • Provided, through NGOs, one-quarter of Kabul 's water supply, focusing on the poorest districts.
  • Rehabilitated 3,637 potable-water supply projects, as well as the municipal water systems in Kandahar and Kunduz, improving water quality, availability, and reliability for 700,000 people.
  • Surveyed all health facilities and services and supported plans to expand basic health services for 11 million women and children and to rebuild 400 rural health centers.
  • Funded NGOs to operate clinics that serve approximately 4.8 million Afghans.

International Cooperation

The international community has rallied to Afghanistan's support with assistance for humanitarian relief, reconstruction and development, economic stabilization, health, education, and governance and democratization.

  • At the Tokyo Conference in January 2002, the international community pledged $5 billion for Afghanistan over several years, including humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. In 2002, the international community spent or obligated about $2 billion of the $5 billion pledged.
  • At the Berlin Conference in March 2004, donors pledged a total of $4.5 billion for the March 2004-March 2005 Afghan fiscal year and $8.2 billion through March 2007.
  • Since 2001, 29 countries have made donations to Afghanistan, including grants and concessional loans.
  • In Afghanistan, our coalition partners —more than 40 countries in all— have deployed some 10,600 troops to Afghanistan, making up over 40% of the 28,400 non-Afghan forces in the country.
  • Nearly two dozen of those coalition partners are providing troops under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). ISAF operates under a UN mandate and is currently under NATO auspices, deployed in Kabul and Kunduz. ISAF forces provide security in Kabul as well as a range of services, including engineering, medical, civil-military affairs, legal, and security.
  • Our NATO allies have deployed 5,500 military personnel to Afghanistan. On August 11, 2003, NATO took over command and coordination of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). NATO had already played a significant role in support of ISAF, with NATO member countries contributing more than 90 percent of the troops involved at any time.
  • In April 2003, the North Atlantic Council, the Alliance's top decision-making body, agreed to significantly expand NATO's support to the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, paving the way for NATO's first mission beyond the Euro-Atlantic area. The Alliance is responsible for the command, coordination and planning of the force.
  • UN Security Council Resolution 1510 ( 10/14/03 ) extended ISAF's mandate to December 20, 2004 , and authorized ISAF expansion for the first time outside Kabul.

Progress for Women

The Afghan people face continued struggles in rebuilding their government and the nation. But the days when women were beaten in streets and executed in soccer fields are over.”
President Bush, May 9, 2003

“No society can prosper when half of its population is not allowed to contribute to its progress. Educated and empowered women are vital to democracy – and important for the development of all countries.”
First Lady Laura Bush, October 10, 2003

People around the world are looking closely at the roles that women play in society. And Afghanistan under the Taliban gave the world a sobering example of a country where women were denied their rights and their place in society... Today, the world is helping Afghan women return to the lives that they once knew.... Our dedication to respect and protect women's rights in all countries must continue if we are to achieve a peaceful, prosperous world.... Together, the United States, the United Nations and all of our allies will prove that the forces of terror can't stop the momentum of freedom.”
First Lady Laura Bush, March 8, 2002

Afghan women reading and writingPresident Bush has made women’s human rights in Afghanistan a foreign policy imperative and a cornerstone of all U.S. humanitarian efforts in the region. Before the Taliban came to power, women were important contributors to Afghan society. Many Afghan women were professionals—teachers, doctors and lawyers; they had been granted the right to vote as early as the 1920’s. Under the Taliban, women had few rights. They were denied the right to education and employment and were not allowed to leave their homes without an appropriate male escort. Since female doctors could not legally work and a woman’s contact with unrelated males was severely limited by law, women were effectively denied access to medical care. Under the Taliban, women were forbidden to work outside the home, which forced many widows to beg for survival, and women who were caught laughing out loud in public could be beaten.

  • More than 200 women voted in the Emergency Loya Jirga , which established Afghanistan's provisional government in 2002.
  • The provisional government includes two female ministers--the Minister of Women's Affairs and the Minister of Public Health. A woman is Chair of the Human Rights Commission. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently created an Office of Human Rights, Health and Women's Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce has set up a department to help women establish their own businesses.
  • Two of the nine members of the committee that drafted the new draft constitution and seven of the 35-member Review Commission were women. Almost 20 percent of the 500 seats in the Constitutional Loya Jirga were held by women.
  • Under the new constitution, 27 percent of the seats in the lower house of the legislature and almost 17% of the seats in the upper house are reserved for women.
  • Afghan women are beginning to participate in the economy again. Assistance projects throughout the country have helped women establish businesses in traditional artisanry, small manufacturing, agriculture, and trades such as tailoring and bread-baking. Seventeen day-care centers for government ministries and offices were built to enable women to return to work.
  • Under the Taliban, girls were allowed only minimal schooling, and m any were educated illegally in risky clandestine schools. Today, almost one-third of the nearly five million children in school are girls.
  • The Ministry of Education established accelerated learning programs to help 15,000 older children who had been denied education under the Taliban catch up with their age groups. Fifty percent of those children are girls.
  • The United States has established over 175 projects that support Afghan women and many more that benefit all Afghans. These projects increase women's political participation, build civil society, create economic opportunities, support the education of girls and women, and increase access to health care.
  • The U.S.-Afghan Women's Council, inaugurated by Presidents Bush and Karzai in January 2002, has mobilized the U.S. private sector to support Afghan women. U.S. businesses have provided computer education and leadership training for women working in government ministries. The U.S.-Afghan Women's Council has sponsored 17 multi-service women's centers offering vocational training, networking opportunities, counseling, child care, and social services for widows and orphans.

America's Fund for Afghan Children

Since President Bush announced America's Fund for Afghan Children in October 2001, the fund has raised $12 million. Administered by the American Red Cross, the fund has provided drugs, basic first aid supplies, and surgical supplies to address emergency health care needs, and assisted in the deployment of mobile healthcare units for refugee camps in Pakistan. Stocked with medical equipment, a healthcare unit is a tented medical facility staffed by two doctors and two nurses. The fund also provided winter clothing for Afghan children and winter tents, blankets, and kitchen sets for families living in icy refugee camps along the Pakistan border, as well as clean water and sanitation services to Afghan refugee children at camps in Iran. The fund supported the reopening of Afghan schools by building new school playgrounds and by providing school chests full of notebooks, pencils, rulers, and other school supplies to children in and around Kabul. The Red Cross and its partners distributed 4,054 chests serving 162,000 students, as well as 750 teacher kits, and school bags for 130,000 refugee and internally-displaced children. In many cases, these supplies were the first that Afghan children could call their own. The American Red Cross has processed nearly 800,000 letters and donations to the fund. For more information: http://kidsfund.redcross.org

The Kabul-Kandahar Highway: Bringing Unity, Progress, and Hope

  • The highway from Kabul to Kandahar is 482 kilometers (300 miles) long. It is one segment of a ring road connecting the major cities of Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat.
  • Thirty-five percent of the population of Afghanistan lives within 50 km (32 miles) of this segment of the road and will benefit immediately.
  • This major highway, which originally was built by the U.S., had deteriorated to a nearly impassable state over the last 30 years and was plagued by land mines.
  • Because of the vital importance of this road to the economic, social, and political life of the country, President Bush directed that rehabilitation of the road be a top priority of the U.S. government.
  • The U.S., Japan, and Saudi Arabia have committed to jointly fund the reconstruction of the entire road. The U.S. and Japan have completed this first phase together, and the governments of both Japan and Saudi Arabia are collaborating with the U.S. in the second phase.
  • Because of the state of Afghanistan's economy and infrastructure, nearly all materials and equipment needed to complete the project had to be imported, and an asphalt-manufacturing plant had to be built in Afghanistan. Mines were cleared along the construction route before work could begin, and workers had to be protected from threats and attacks.
  • The highway links diverse regions of Afghanistan and strengthens the government's ability to reach communities outside of the Kabul region.
  • The new road permits speeds of over 60 miles an hour and cuts travel time from Kabul to Kandahar from over a day to six hours.
  • For Afghans, this road means lower transportation costs, better access to education and health facilities, increased labor mobility, and greater diversity of products and services through increased inter-provincial trade.
  • The highway will improve access to health care for Afghans by permitting quicker transportation to hospitals in Kabul.
  • Afghanistan is more secure because of the highway, since the U.S. and new Afghan military will be able to patrol larger areas of the country more quickly and easily.
  • With the completion of the first layer of pavement, the road was opened to traffic. The second layer of paving was begun in spring 2004, and 286 km (178 miles) of this segment now have a second layer of paving. In addition to final-layer paving, work on shoulders, bridges, signage, and drainage improvements are under way.
  • The United States will rebuild the next 329 (205 miles) of the road—the Kandahar-Herat Highway—while Japan and Saudi Arabia take on the final 232 kilometers (144 miles).
  • Work on the Kandahar-Herat Highway began in summer 2004.
  • The U.S. is also improving important secondary roads, and over 600 kilometers (375 miles) of these roads are in various stages of work. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in mid-May on the Jalalabad-Asmar road.

Press Releases and Speeches
October 12, 2004
Afghanistan's Election: The People Speak
October 9, 2004
Elections in Afghanistan
October 8, 2004
Afghanistan Voter Registration Continues Throughout the Country
August 10, 2004
President Discusses Afghanistan
July 8, 2004
Rights and the Aspirations of the People of Afghanistan
June 15, 2004
President Bush Meets with President Karzai of Afghanistan
March 19, 2004
President Bush Reaffirms Resolve to War on Terror, Iraq and Afghanistan
March 10, 2004
The U.S.-Afghan Women's Council
November 3, 2003
Statement on Draft Constitution in Afghanistan
July 1, 2003
President Discusses Progress in Afghanistan, Iraq
May 19, 2003
Rebuilding Afghanistan
February 27, 2003
President Bush Meets with President Karzai of Afghanistan
January 13, 2003
Statement on Afghanistan
November 11, 2002
Afghanistan: Then and Now
November 10, 2002
President Bush Welcomes Highway Construction in Afghanistan
October 11, 2002
Fact Sheet: American Assistance to the People of Afghanistan
October 13, 2002
Statement by the Deputy Press Secretary
May 21, 2002
Radio Address of First Lady Laura Bush to Radio Free Afghanistan
May 3, 2002
To Restore Nondiscriminatory Trade Treatment to the Products of Afghanistan
January 29, 2002
Remarks of Mrs. Laura Bush at USAID Event with Interim Chairman of the Afghan Authority Hamid Karzai
January 28, 2002
Fact Sheet: Assisting People of Afghanistan
December 31, 2001
President Names Special Envoy for Afghanistan
December 14, 2001
Afghanistan Combat Zone Executive Order
November 26, 2001
President Welcomes Aid Workers Rescued from Afghanistan
November 19, 2001
President Discusses War, Humanitarian Efforts
November 6, 2001
President Bush: "No Nation Can Be Neutral in This Conflict"
October 16, 2001
Afghan Children's Fund Launch
October 4, 2001
President Directs Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan
September 28, 2001
Presidential Determination


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