The Importance of Developing Government in Afghanistan
Abstract
This article will walk through the current state of affairs, limiting factors, and elements of reform of the Ministerial Development mission in Afghanistan. The premise is that legitimate government is aided by police who serve and protect the public. In turn, building the public's trust is the key ingredient to stability and therefore an important component of COIN strategy. The police are the public face of government as they are the ones who interact with the citizens each and every day. They have unique capabilities in achieving the goal of good governance even when confronted by violence and insecurity. On this last point, the article will explain the importance of the Ministerial Development mission, the challenges to these efforts, and some of the reform efforts that will help advance the Ministry of Interior Affairs. While it is very important to appropriately develop and manage the requisite forces, it is equally important to develop a functioning and sustainable ministerial system. What does Ministerial Development mean? It is the effort of building a legitimate government, one that is able to provide essential services and security to the population. In the case of the DoD, it means creating a self-sustaining Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) that can project an internal security capability across the country and its borders as well as providing law and order to the citizens in each of the 365 Districts of Afghanistan. Growing and maintaining effective leaders, teams, and processes to support and sustain military and police forces are the critical components to this mission. With the challenges of rampant corruption, continued insurgency, wide-spread illiteracy, and an inconsistent existence of security and rule of law, this mission is a tall order. While the U.S. government has provided significant support over the past 10 years, the specific focus on Ministerial Development has only existed in the last three.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA552672
Entities
People
- Scott R. Lewis
Organizations
- Office of the Secretary of Defense