Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Following the fall of the Taliban regime, the US created Coalition Humanitarian Liaison Cells (CHLC), consisting of five to twelve soldiers who engaged in small-scale state-building activity. Some early success encouraged the expansion of CHLCs into PRTs, which represented a nimbler alternative to an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) presence outside Kabul. PRTs implemented quick-impact projects to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Afghan populace, years before the trumpeted shift to such a strategy occurred. ¹ By the end of the Bush Administration’s second term, 12 US-led PRTs, mandated to promote security, reconstruction and good governance, were in operation. PRTs implemented quick-impact projects, comprising business, agriculture, public health and infrastructure. PRT commanders were responsible for security and inter-agency coordination, and received policy guidance from an Executive Steering Committee based in Kabul. The State Department, USAID and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) had leading civilian roles. ² In contrast to initiatives centred in Washington and ideas that were presented outside of the government, PRTs nominally involved practical cooperation between agencies in the field.