‘between the dragon and his wrath’, 1994–2017as far as some American politicians are concerned, is to demand the
disbanding of sigar and the sacking of its ceo.
Despite the relatively low level of international commitment to the
reconstruction of civil society since 2001, there has been substantial
progress in terms of rehabilitating Afghanistan’s shattered infrastructure
as well as in humanitarian aid. In October 2001 a major emergency relief
effort, including food drops by u.s. planes, ensured there was sufficient
food for most communities to make it through the winter. Shortly after
Operation Enduring Freedom commenced, rain fell in the northern plain,
in what many Afghans regarded as an Act of God, followed by a good coat-
ing of winter snow on the Hindu Kush. This came as a relief to the northern
provinces, which had been badly hit by three years of severe drought, and
most of the crops planted in the spring of 2002 reached maturity.
After 2003 the relief effort shifted to medium-term reconstruction and
rehabilitation, a daunting task given the destruction of many urban centres
and the complex problems facing rural communities. Thousands of homes
were rebuilt, government offices rehabilitated and an intensive mine-
clearing operation reclaimed vital land for agriculture. Rural development
programmes played a significant role in improving facilities and agricul-
tural output, and rehabilitating degraded irrigation canals and karez. There
was also extensive replanting of fruit trees and vines as well as attempts
to rebuild stocks of sheep, goats and cows. Health services and access to
medical assistance improved and Afghanistan’s rate of mother and child
mortality, still among the highest in the world, has slowly decreased with
the training of rural midwives and d a’ is, or traditional birth attendants.
The country’s road network was repaired, major highways resurfaced
and new roads constructed and improved. In Kabul and other cities many
dirt streets have been surfaced, reducing the prevalence of summer dust
storms, pollution and airborne diseases. However, sigar has noted that
many of the newly rehabilitated highways are rapidly degrading due to the
government’s neglect of essential maintenance. The Asian Development
Bank has funded the extension of the Hairatan railhead to Mazar-i Sharif,
which has stimulated trade with the Central Asian Republics, Russia and
China. A recently signed tripartite agreement with Iran and India offers the
potential of Afghanistan using the port of Chabahar as an alternative tran-
sit port and the oil and gas pipeline project has been resurrected. Indian
engineers have recently closed off the Selma Dam on the Hari Rud, but
other hydroelectric power stations still work well below capacity, mostly
because the equipment and generators are broken. Many dams still have
obsolete machinery installed in the 1940s and ’50s. Kabul is now linked