ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the chaotic nature of US efforts to pursue reconstruction in Afghanistan. It examines the US military's approach to infrastructure development. The chapter explores United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 's leadership on the civilian side and the controversy that this generated. It inspects specific infrastructure projects in three areas – road-building, agriculture and education. Finally, the impact that regulation and oversight from the counter-bureaucracy and Congress had on reconstruction projects is assessed. The chapter demonstrates that although USAID sometimes asserted its independence, more often than not it demurred and accepted the preferences of the more powerful bureaucratic forces. But regardless, USAID's lack of capacity meant that it was incapable of conducting the quick-impact projects that the State Department, the military and other factions in Washington desired. The machinations of the foreign policy bureaucracy prevented the US from constructing a sustainable road network, an economically beneficial agricultural programme or an effective education system.
