USAID: Afghan Gov't Not Ready

Confidential assessments by USAID reportedly suggest that U.S. government officials do not believe Afghanistan is ready to self-govern, despite the plan to pull out U.S. forces by the end of this year. The Washington Times obtained the documents, which scrutinize seven Afghan ministries overseeing the nation’s finance, mining, electric utilities, communications, education, health, and agriculture. Looking at the impact of the $100 billion that the U.S. government put into rebuilding the Afghan government, the assessment found that all but one ministry was considered highly vulnerable to fraud, waste, and even theft. It was concluded that even that lone ministry—the ministry of finance—might “not be able to fulfill its mandate and carry out its operation.”