09/20/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-10140

ROAD CONSTRUCTION IN AFGHANISTAN

The United States is committed to supporting a stable, free, and peaceful Afghanistan. Freeing the country from the oppressive Taleban regime and the al-Qaida terrorists is just part of that commitment.

Another is rebuilding Afghanistan after more than a decade of Soviet occupation and years of civil strife. Since the horrific September 11^th terrorist attacks, the U.S., Japan, and Saudi Arabia, and other members of the U.S.-led coalition, have worked to rid the world of terrorism and to support Afghanistan’s new administration, led by President Hamid Karzai.

"Building highways and repairing road networks in Afghanistan," said Mr. Karzai, "is an important undertaking with significant economic, political, and social impact for the Afghan people. It creates jobs, helps with security and demobilization, provides better connectivity, strengthens national unity, and assists with the reintegration of Afghanistan into the national economy."

President George W. Bush has said, "We’ll help develop a modern infrastructure so that the Afghan entrepreneur will be able to move products from one city to the next, and so that people will be able to find work, [and] they’ll be able to put food on the table."

Specifically, the U.S., Japan, and Saudi Arabia will reconstruct the highway from Kabul through Kandahar to Herat. Construction is expected to be completed within thirty-six months. This road can be the beginning of a reliable transportation system that will link Afghanistan with trading partners from the Indian Ocean to Central Asia and from the Caspian Basin to the Far East.

As President Bush said, "Our commitment to a stable and free and peaceful Afghanistan is a long-term commitment."