The Role of the Department of Defense in Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Abstract

Testimony presented before House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on September 5, 2007. The Jalalabad PRT operates in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, which is due east of Kabul. Nangarhar is an extremely important province in Afghanistan economically because it provides the primary licit trade route with Pakistan at the Torkem border crossing; is the economic center of the east for business and development; produces 15-20% of the world's heroin on an annual basis; has one of the most educated populations in the country; and is considered one of the breadbaskets" of the country due to the land's fertility. Nangarhar is also notorious for its history of supporting insurgents, including: welcoming Osama Bin Laden when he was forced to leave Sudan in 1996; providing sanctuary for Al Qaeda's training camps; hosting some of the most serious fighting early in Operation Enduring Freedom in the Tora Bora section of the Spin Ghar Mountains; being the site of the first Stinger missile launch in battle by the mujahedin against the Soviets; and serving as a staging ground for the insurgency raging in the eastern part of Afghanistan.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA473450

Entities

People

  • Michelle Parker

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil Affairs
  • Combat Operations
  • Commerce
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Force Protection
  • Governments
  • International Organizations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Governments
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Stability Operations
  • Surface To Air Missiles
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.