Afghanistan Day 2024 is on Thursday, March 21, 2024: Afghanistan?

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Afghanistan?

The "war on drugs" is a joke

it is only enforced at the edges of the problem

and only then, when it is convienient !! There are ex-drug enforcement agents coming forward every day that are speaking of the "shell game" that is going on within this fantasy land of the enforcement world !!

Here within my own community -- there have been numerous people report activity within their neighborhoods that is known to be drug activity -- and nothing is EVER done ---ever !!

The society has been SO pumped to the "terrorist thing" that they had, evidently, rather see 10 to 20 thousand kids a year die at the raw end of a needle than to have one more single incident of a terrorist plane taking out 3,000 !!! And, this is definitely NOT to belittle the lives lost in 9 / 11 !! It is just simply a statement of evidentiary FACT !!

Afghanistan -- is -- within itself -- the "lost" war -- for , in order to ever hear anything about it at all -- there has to be a "search" made about it -- or, a number of our people have to be killed in some off-the-wall incident there !! EVERYTHING--- and I do mean EVERYTHING is focused on Iraq !!

As crazy as things are getting -- it wouldn't even surprise ME if it didn't come out someday before long that the military or maybe the CIA were helping the poppy growers turn out better crops --- in some kind of "population appeasement program " !!!! Things just don't make good sense anymore for when madmen are at the helm --- madness becomes the "order of the day" !!!!!

What do Cavalry Scouts do in Afghanistan now-a-days?

What do Cavalry Scouts do in Afghanistan now-a-days?

Most Army brigade combat teams have three maneuver battalions. Two are Infantry, and one is Cavalry. Traditionally, the Cavalry is supposed to gather intelligence and locate the enemy in order for the brigade's Infantry and Artillery to destroy it. In these day and ages of low intensity and non-linear conflict it is not uncommon for a brigade commander to use his Cavalry Squadron as basically another (smaller) infantry battalion. Good old fashion grunt work comes in a lot of MOSs these days.

Afghanistans economy??

Afghanistans economy??

Afghanistan is an impoverished country, one of the world's poorest and least developed. Two-thirds of the population lives on fewer than 2 US dollars a day. The economy has suffered greatly from the recent political and military unrest since the 1979 Soviet invasion and subsequent conflicts, while severe drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998–2001.[45][46]

The economically active population in 2002 was about 11 million (out of a total of an estimated 29 million). As of 2005, the official unemployment rate is at 40%.[47] The number of non-skilled young people is estimated at 3 million, which is likely to increase by some 300,000 per annum.[48]

A business center in Kabul.However, Afghanistan has achieved respectable economic recovery and growth since 2002. The real value of non-drug GDP increased by 29% in 2002, 16% in 2003, 8% in 2004 and 14% in 2005.[49] As much as one-third of Afghanistan's GDP comes from growing poppy and illicit drugs including opium and its two derivatives, morphine and heroin, as well as hashish production.[17] Opium production in Afghanistan has soared to a new record in 2007, with an increase on last year of more than a third, the United Nations has said.[50] Some 3.3 million Afghans are now involved in producing opium.[51]

In a recent article in the Washington Quarterly, Peter van Ham and Jorrit Kamminga argue that the international community should establish a pilot project and investigate a licensing scheme to start the production of medicines such as morphine and codeine from poppy crops to help it escape the economic dependence on opium:[52]

There is no time to waste, as Afghanistan could well be slipping back to chaos and civil strife. Tackling the drug economy is central to easing Afghanistan's ills, and the only remaining alternative is the poppies for peace proposal, using medicinal poppy cultivation as bridge to sustainable development and lasting security in Afghanistan.

On a positive note, international efforts to rebuild Afghanistan led to the formation of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) as a result of the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, and later addressed at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in 2002, where 4.5 billion US dollars were committed in a trust fund to be administered by the World Bank Group. Another 4 billion US dollars were committed in 2004 followed by 10.5 billion US dollars in early 2006 at the London Conference.[53] In early 2007, 11.6 billion dollars were committed to the country from the United States alone. Priority areas for reconstruction include the rebuilding of the educational system, health, and sanitation facilities, enhancement of administrative capacity, the development of the agricultural sector, and the rebuilding of road, energy, and telecommunication links.

According to a 2004 report by the Asian Development Bank, the present reconstruction effort is two-pronged: first it focuses on rebuilding critical physical infrastructure, and second, on building modern public sector institutions from the remnants of Soviet style planning to ones that promote market-led development.[48] In 2006, two US companies, Black & Veatch and the Louis Berger Group, have won a US 1.4 billion dollar contract to rebuild roads, power lines and water supply systems of Afghanistan.[54]

One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over 4 million refugees from neighbouring countries and the West, who brought with them fresh energy, entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds to start up businesses. What is also helping is the estimated US 2–3 billion dollars in international assistance every year, the partial recovery of the agricultural sector, and the reestablishment of market institutions. Private developments are also beginning to get underway. In 2006, a Dubai-based Afghan family opened a $25 million Coca Cola bottling plant in Afghanistan.[55]

While the country's current account deficit is largely financed with the donor money, only a small portion – about 15% – is provided directly to the government budget. The rest is provided to non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations. The government had a central budget of only $350 million in 2003 and an estimated $550 million in 2004. The country's foreign exchange reserves totals about $500 million. Revenue is mostly generated through customs, as income and corporate tax bases are negligible.

Inflation had been a major problem until 2002. However, the depreciation of the Afghani in 2002 after the introduction of the new notes (which replaced 1,000 old Afghani by 1 new Afghani) coupled with the relative stability compared to previous periods has helped prices to stabilize and even decrease between December 2002 and February 2003, reflecting the turnaround appreciation of the new Afghani currency. Since then, the index has indicated stability, with a moderate increase toward late 2003.[48]

The Afghan government and international donors seem to remain committed to improving access to basic necessities, infrastructure development, education, housing and economic reform. The central government is also focusing on improved revenue collection and public sector expenditure discipline. The rebuilding of the financial sector seems to have been so far successful. Money can now be transferred in and out of the country via official banking channels. Since 2003, over fourteen new banks have opened in the country, including Standard Chartered Bank, Afghanistan International Bank, Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, First Micro Finance Bank, and others. A new law on private investment provides three to seven-year tax holidays to eligible companies and a four-year exemption from exports tariffs and duties.

The plan for Kabul's nine billion dollar future modern urban development project, the City of Light Development.Some private investment projects, backed with national support, are also beginning to pick up steam in Afghanistan. An initial concept design called the City of Light Development, envisioned by Dr. Hisham N. Ashkouri, Principal of ARCADD, Inc. for the development and the implementation of a privately based investment enterprise has been proposed for multi-function commercial, historic and cultural development within the limits of the Old City of Kabul along the Southern side of the Kabul River and along Jade Meywand Avenue,[56] revitalizing some of the most commercial and historic districts in the City of Kabul, which contains numerous historic mosques and shrines as well as viable commercial activities among war damaged buildings. Also incorporated in the design is a new complex for the Afghan National Museum.

The overall good news is the country has potential to quickly come out of poverty and become an economically stable country. This is due to many reports showing that the country has possession of mass amounts of high demand natural resources and minerals. According to the US Geological Survey and the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Industry, Afghanistan may be possessing up to 36 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 3.6 billion barrels of petroleum and up to 1,325 million barrels of natural gas liquids. This could mark the turning point in Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts. Energy exports could generate the revenue that Afghan officials need to modernize the country’s infrastructure and expand economic opportunities for the beleaguered and fractious population.[21] Other reports suggest that the country has huge amounts of gold, copper, coal, iron ore and other rich minerals.[18][22]

Afghanistan is now a member of SAARC and ECO regional organizations, as well as the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

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