Afghanistan is a mountainous, arid, land-locked country with limited natural resources, bordered by Pakistan to the east and south; Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and China to the north; and Iran to the west (see fig. 1). At 647,500 square kilometers, Afghanistan is slightly smaller than the state of Texas; its population, estimated at 27.8 million, is ethnically diverse, largely rural, and mostly uneducated. The country is divided into 32 provinces, over 300 districts, and approximately 30,000 villages. Afghanistan is an extremely poor country. As shown in table 1, development indicators published by the World Bank and the U.N. rank Afghanistan at the bottom of virtually every category, including malnutrition; infant, child, and maternal mortality; life expectancy; and literacy. Over the last 2 decades, political conflicts ravaged Afghanistan. The country was subject to ethnic rivalry led by provincial warlords, communist invasion, and fundamental Islamic control, all of which limited development (see fig. 2). Factional control of the country following the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, coupled with the population’s fatigue of fighting, allowed a fundamental Islamic group, the Taliban, to seize control of the country. Although the Taliban regime provided some political stability during the late 1990s, its destructive policies, highlighted in its repressive treatment of women, and its continuing war with the opposition Northern Alliance further impeded international aid and development. In December 2001, less than 2 months after U.S. and coalition forces forcibly removed the Taliban regime, an international summit in Bonn, Germany, established a framework for a new Afghan government, which focused on an ambitious 30-month timeline for writing a new constitution by the end of October 2003 and holding democratic elections by June 2004. The framework, known as the Bonn Agreement, was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council on December 6, 2001, through UN Resolution 1383. (See app. II for additional information on the Bonn Agreement.) In December 2002, the United States passed the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 and increased its assistance to Afghanistan. (See app. III for details on the types and purposes of the assistance authorized by the act.) The goal of the U.S. government in Afghanistan is to firmly establish a democratic nation inhospitable to international terrorism, drug trafficking and cultivation; at peace with its neighbors; and able to provide its own internal and external security. U.S. efforts in support of this goal are intended to help create national security institutions, provide humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, and reinforce the primacy of the central government over Afghanistan’s provinces. Title I, Section 104(a) of the act states that in general, the President is strongly urged to designate, within the Department of State, a coordinator who shall among other things be responsible for designing an overall strategy to advance U.S. interests in Afghanistan; ensuring program and policy coordination among U.S. agencies carrying out the policies set forth in this title; pursuing Afghanistan assistance coordination with other countries and ensuring proper management, implementation, and oversight by agencies responsible for Afghan assistance programs. USAID provides U.S. assistance to underdeveloped countries through U.N. agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private contractors. The main organizational units responsible for managing USAID’s reconstruction programs and operations in Afghanistan in fiscal years 2002–2003 were the agency’s mission in Kabul, Afghanistan; the Bureau for Asia and the Near East; and the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance through the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, Office of Food for Peace, Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), and Office for Democracy and Governance. Other U.S. government agencies provided additional assistance, including the Department of Defense through its provincial reconstruction teams (PRT) located at sites throughout Afghanistan. In fiscal years 2002–2003, the PRTs ranged in size from 50 to 100 civilian and military personnel, including civil affairs units, force protection soldiers, and representatives of the Departments of Agriculture and State and USAID. The teams are intended to deliver assistance that advances military goals and provide security in an effort to increase the reach of the Afghan central government in the provinces and allow assistance agencies to implement projects. By late 2003, Defense established PRTs in Bamian, Kunduz, Gardez, and Mazar-I-Sharif. In fiscal years 2002–2003, the United States spent the majority of its nonsecurity-related funding to Afghanistan on humanitarian and quick- impact projects, and it contributed approximately one-third of the international funding disbursed in Afghanistan. Of the 10 U.S. agencies providing assistance to Afghanistan, USAID provided the largest amount, for both humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, and the Department of State provided the second largest amount, primarily for humanitarian assistance. USAID and the Department of Defense obligated a total of $283 million for nationwide programs and $564 million for localized program assistance in 31 provinces. The United States accounted for 38 percent of the $3.7 billion in nonsecurity-related international funding disbursed in Afghanistan in fiscal years 2002–2003. The U.S. government obligated $1.4 billion for assistance to Afghanistan in fiscal years 2002–2003, including $782 million for humanitarian and quick- impact projects and $647 million for strategic, longer-term reconstruction projects. U.S. agencies spent $900 million, of which $686 million, or over 75 percent, was spent on humanitarian and quick-impact projects and about $214 million, or over 20 percent, was spent on longer-term reconstruction needs. (See fig. 3.) Of the 10 U.S. government departments and agencies involved in assistance to Afghanistan in fiscal years 2002–2003,USAID provided the largest amount of assistance, for both humanitarian and reconstruction needs. USAID obligated $942 million, of which it spent about $508 million by September 2003. It provided both short-term assistance—emergency, humanitarian, and quick-impact projects—and longer-term reconstruction and development-oriented assistance, such as revitalizing infrastructure, improving health and education, strengthening the economy, and supporting democracy and governance. The Department of State provided the next largest amount, obligating $287 million in fiscal years 2002-2003 and spending $254 million of that amount. State’s programs were targeted mainly to refugee and humanitarian assistance, including demining, and also included funding for counterdrug programs and building a police force. The Department of Defense obligated $71 million and spent $64 million, primarily for provincial-level, short-term projects implemented through its PRTs and for humanitarian daily rations that it air-dropped early in fiscal year 2002. In addition, seven other U.S. government agencies obligated $128 million and spent $74 million for a variety of both humanitarian and reconstruction activities. (See fig. 4.) In an effort to expand the reach of the Afghan government—a major U.S. and Afghan government priority—most USAID and Defense assistance funding was spent on projects implemented at the provincial level. Specifically, USAID and Defense obligated $283 million for nationwide programs and $564 million for provincial-level assistance across 31 provinces. Kabul received the most provincial-level assistance, $70.4 million for 148 projects, while Konar received the least, $121,350 for one project. Although assistance was provided in virtually all of Afghanistan’s provinces, five provinces received approximately half of provincial-level program assistance. Four of these provinces—Kabul, Kandahar, Balkh, and Hirat—have major population centers, and the fifth, Badakshan, is increasingly important to the opium trade. (See fig. 5.) In fiscal years 2002–2003, international donors pledged $9.7 billion for assistance to Afghanistan. (See app. V for details.) International disbursements for the 2-year period totaled approximately $3.7 billion, of which U.S. obligations accounted for approximately 38 percent, or $1.4 billion—the largest amount donated (see fig. 6). Like U.S. funding, most international funding was directed to meet humanitarian needs rather than major reconstruction efforts. According to the Center on International Cooperation, as of May 2003, $947 million of the international disbursements had been used to begin reconstruction projects. In fiscal years 2002-2003, humanitarian and quick-impact assistance benefited Afghanistan, but longer-term reconstruction efforts achieved limited results. U.S. humanitarian aid helped overcome emergency conditions and jump-start the recovery effort. In addition, quick-impact projects helped Afghanistan transition from the emergency to the reconstruction phase. However, because of delayed funding, most major contracts for reconstruction activities were not signed until summer 2003, limiting the results achieved by the end of that fiscal year. In fiscal years 2002–2003, to help redress the complex humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the U.S. government provided emergency assistance that helped avert a famine, significantly reduce the suffering of the most vulnerable Afghans, and assist the return of refugees. USAID’s Office of Food for Peace provided Afghanistan with 355,270 metric tons of wheat and other emergency food assistance (valued at $206.4 million) through P.L. 480, Title II, and the Department of Agriculture provided 79,600 metric tons of surplus wheat (valued at $38.7 million) through the 416(b) program. The United States provided most of its food assistance to Afghanistan through the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), as well as the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and nongovernmental organizations. (See fig. 7.) Over the 2-year period, the United States provided over 60 percent of all international food assistance received by Afghanistan.