Introduction

1. What is US Foreign Aid?

U.S. foreign aid is a fundamental component of the international affairs budget
and is viewed by many as an essential instrument of U.S. foreign policy. Each year, it
is the subject of extensive congressional debate and legislative and executive branch
initiatives.
Policymakers viewed U.S. development assistance programs towards newly
independent states as a way to prevent the incursion of Soviet influence in Latin
America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Foreign aid programs reflected less of a
strategic focus on global scale and instead responded to regional issues. Since the
September 11, 2001 attack in the United States, policymakers cast foreign assistance
as a tool in the global war on terrorism.
The rationales for foreign aid has long been defended as a way to either
promote U.S. exports by creating new customers for U.S. products or by improving
the global economic environment in which U.S. companies compete. Meanwhile, the
aid objectives include promoting economic growth and reducing poverty, improving
governance, addressing population growth, expanding access to basic education and
health care, protecting the environment, promoting stability in conflictive regions,
protecting human rights, curbing weapons proliferation, strengthening allies, and
addressing drug production and trafficking.
2. What is US Economic Aid to Afghanistan?
As a result of the war on Al Qaeda and the 2001 military effort that removed
Taliban rule, Afghanistan is a U.S. strategic priority and recipient to date of nearly
$48 billion in U.S. foreign assistance serving multiple objectives. The main purpose
of the program is to stabilize and strengthen the Afghan economic, social, political,
and security environment so as to blunt popular support for extremist forces in the
region. The biggest share of U.S. assistance is in security-related activities followed
by economic, social, and political developmental efforts, humanitarian aid, and the
fourth main component of the aid program is counter-narcotics.
As much as a quarter of total USAID assistance to Afghanistan
went to road construction throughout the country. U.S. assistance supports a number
of efforts to stimulate growth of the Afghan economy, which the most prominent part
is agriculture. Projects to facilitate economic growth in the wider business sector
include the provision of technical proficiency to help reform the legal framework in
which business operates, including taxation and administrative policies. An economic
growth program that is importance to agriculture is the effort to improve land
labeling. The United States supports two major and sometimes overlapping
agriculture efforts: one nationwide and another, under the custom of alternative
development, aimed at promoting legal alternatives to poppy and targeted at specific
areas where poppy is grown. Most of these agriculture programs are implemented by
USAID. U.S. economic aid also comprises national solidarity within Afghanistan,
health assistance, and education. Economic assistance to Afghanistan has been
provided in most years since 2001 in both regular appropriations and supplemental
appropriations bills.
3. What is the relationship between US and Afghanistan?
Afghan-American relations became important during the start of the Cold
War. At that time the United States declined Afghanistan's request for defense
cooperation but extended an economic assistance program focused on the
development of Afghanistan's physical infrastructure. Later, US aid shifted from
infrastructure projects to technical assistance programs to help develop the skills
needed to build a modern economy. Following the Soviet invasion, the United States
supported diplomatic efforts to achieve Soviet withdrawal. As today, Afghanistan
remains an important partner of the United States in fight against terrorism and
invests U.S. resources to help improve its security, governance, institutions, and
economy. This results on U.S. relationship with Afghanistan as a strong, long-term,
and broad bilateral partnership.
4. Why Afghanistan? (geopolitics factor)
Afghanistan is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central
Asia bordering China, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It is
an important geostrategic connecting East and West Asia or the Middle East and
because of its location, the country functions as a bridge between energy rich Central
Asia and energy-deficient South Asia.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 brought the country to the
limelight and the strategic balance of subcontinent was altered dramatically with
intervention of extra regional powers. The geostrategic relevance of Afghanistan
cannot be overlooed and it gained further importance with the breakup of Soviet
Union. In fact, the country has emerged as a new centre for terrorism. When Russia
withdrew from Afghanistan, the US-supported Mujahideen took control. After awhile,
United States withdrew subsequently from the region that caused a power vacuum,
allowing the Taliban to seize control. Soon Taliban as a host to Al Qaida and its
leader, Osama bin Laden, turned into reality the threat of Islamic Fundamentalism
faced by Central Asia. After the September 11 attacks, the U.S. launched the global
war on terrorism and added great deal of turbulence in the region. Presence in
Afghanistan provides an opportunity to influence the region and keep a check on
Russian, Chinese, Pakistani, Iranian, and the Indian influence, the nuclear states in the
region. Any exit made by U.S. from Afghanistan could cause a political vacuum
which would most likely be filled by Russia, Iran, or India.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the main factor behind US’s assistance to Afghanistan is a historical
factor between those two. From Taliban rule, September 11 attack, until protecting
Afghanistan from Russian influence. The main purpose of US economic aid is to
stabilize and strengthen the afghan economic. This assistance greatly helps
Afghanistan’s development, especially in the fields of infrastructure and agriculture.