U.S. Army Engineers Plan To Double Afghan Efforts

[Batgirl]

By REUTERS

U.S. Army engineers plan to double their workload in Afghanistan in the next year as NATO forces try to convince Afghans that reconstruction projects are improving their lives, a U.S. commander said on Oct. 18.

Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said his staff in Afghanistan would focus on tasks such as road construction and electricity generation.

NATO officials have said reconstruction must be intensified to win over ordinary people in Afghanistan, which is experiencing its bloodiest year since U.S.-led forces ousted Taliban Islamists in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks.
"What I see in this coming year is about a doubling of the workload," said Strock, referring to the U.S. fiscal year which runs from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007.

"The engineer district here has something like about 600 projects, I think, that we’re committed to over the next year," Strock, speaking by video link from Afghanistan, told reporters at the Pentagon.

"And the total, if all of that occurs, is about $1 billion worth of effort across both security (infrastructure) and reconstruction."

The top NATO commander in Afghanistan, British Army Gen. David Richards, said on Oct. 17 the next six months would be vital in showing Afghans that reconstruction was progressing.

Richards said Taliban militants, who have fought fierce battles with NATO troops in recent months, had exploited frustration among Afghans who felt international powers had failed to match their pledges to improve everyday life.

While next year should see an increase in reconstruction, Strock said, NATO expected 2008 to produce the largest effort.

"You might say ‘That’s two years from now and that’s not soon enough.’ But I think that if we show steady progress and it’s visible progress, if the Afghan people can see that, then we’ll get where we need to go," he said.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in fighting in Afghanistan this year, including about 150 foreign soldiers.

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