Today, six suicide bombers attacked the offices of USAID and DAI in Kunduz, Afghanistan. Three foreigners and two Afghans were killed. Twenty others were wounded. The Taliban have claimed responsibility.
The attack began around 3 a.m. when the first bomber exploded his car at the gate of the compound. Five other suicide bombers raced inside the building, where they began firing rifles, Mr. Omar said.
The five other attackers all eventually died inside the building, according to the governor, but he did not make it clear whether they had been shot by Afghan forces during a six-hour firefight or had blown themselves up.
“The building has been destroyed,” Mr. Omar said. He also said six American employees trapped inside along with four security guards had been rescued by Afghan forces. There were unconfirmed reports that some employees fled to the roof of the building during the battle.
Relevant to today’s attack, two days from now (don’t ask me why I can see WashPo articles from the future) the Washington Post is publishing an article on how USAID workers are trained for Afghanistan. It is a worthwhile read.
“[The Iraq experience] reinforced the recognition that the military can’t do this on its own,” says Stephanie Sanok, a former Iraq policy specialist who served in the Baghdad embassy. “It’s the Department of Defense, not the Department of Defense and Much, Much More.”
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Click here!The “more” includes economic development, reconstruction and improving the ability of the Afghan government to meet its people’s needs, a process known as “capacity building.” Sanok, now with the CSIS, says, “In order to work yourself out of a job and depart a nation in a responsible way, you are going to have to transition programs and projects to local authorities, and you’re going to need civilian trainers to build that capacity.”
By the time the Obama administration took over running the war in Afghanistan, it was clear that both the military and its civilian partners needed more boots on the ground, and fast. But whereas the Pentagon could call up reservists and the National Guard to supplement its active-duty service members, neglected civilian institutions such as USAID had to build up their workforces from scratch.
A special message to Conflict Health readers in Afghanistan: stay safe out there.
Christopher R. Albon is a political science Ph.D. specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
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