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US watchdog: Afghans may not be ready for ‘day after' peace
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ‐ Afghanistan may not be ready for peace unless it finds a way to reintegrate Taliban fighters into society, combat corruption and rein in the country’s runaway narcotics problem, a U.S. watchdog said Wednesday.The warning by Washington’s Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which monitors billions of dollars in U.S. aid to the country, came in the group’s new quarterly report that also discusses Afghan needs for the "day after" ‐ once there is a peace deal with the Taliban. Over the past months, the U.S. has stepped up efforts to find a peaceful resolution to Afghanistan’s 17-year war and has been holding talks with a resurgent Taliban. The insurgents, however, refuse to negotiate with the Kabul government, which they consider a U.S. puppet. The Taliban also continue to stage near-daily attacks, inflicting staggering casualties, and now control about half the country. "No matter how welcome peace would be, it can carry with it the seeds of unintended and unforeseen consequences," John F. Sopko, head of SIGAR, said in the report. The war has already cost America $737 billion, according to the Pentagon. On reconstruction alone, the U.S. has spent $132 billion since 2002, much of that to train and equip Afghan security forces, as well as strengthen government institutions, provide education and better health care, said Sopko. But the gains are fragile, Sopko said, and solutions are needed to the country’s increasing insecurity, "endemic corruption, weak Afghan institutions, the insidious impact of the narcotics trade, and inadequate coordination and oversight by donors." Sopko said that failure to reintegrate the estimated 60,000 Taliban fighters and their families into Afghan society would undermine peace. Posted by: Besoeker 2019-05-01 |
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