Non-military aid has been included in the State budget for both countries “to revitalize economic development and confront the resurgence of the Taliban.” That funding will be crucial to realizing the administration's goal of moving beyond the destabilizing effects of the military assaults on the populations to attracting the citizens away from the influence of the militarized elements of resistance to NATO and the U.S..
Another part of that diplomatic effort will be challenged to further engage regional actors like Iran, China, Russia and India in providing the economic assistance and security that Afghanistan cannot provide on its own. However, we've yet to see an effective rallying of our allies - the revived coalition of which candidate Obama argued was essential to a successful resolution of the conflict and the stabilization of the region.
The new plan for Afghanistan which President Obama has under review will have to be bold in its commitment to providing the resources and political will to allow the diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives to achieve parity with the continuing grudging military mission against al-Qaeda - which will undoubtedly emerge in his rationale as paramount to proceeding with the entire enterprise.
If we are not successful in building up Afghanistan's economy and restoring the population to a reasonable level of subsistence and self-reliance with our economic and diplomatic initiatives we will be locked, indefinitely, in this self-perpetuating cycle of resistance and retaliation. Hopefully, the direction for Afghanistan and Pakistan decided on by the president after his review will reflect that priority; that 'era of engagement' that he envisions for the future.
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