New Assessment of the United States’ Civilian Surge Into Afghanistan Finds Pockets of Success but Minimal Strategic Impact

Ariella Viehe, Jasmine Afshar, Tamana Heela, Center for American Progress

Washington, D.C. — In 2009, the largest surge of civilian representatives in U.S. history was deployed into Afghanistan alongside the U.S. military to address the political and economic drivers of the insurgency. Civilians from the U.S. Department of State; the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID; and several other departments provided support for Afghanistan’s political and economic transition toward a democratic and stable country. Despite thousands of U.S. civilians, the results in Afghanistan were very mixed. A new Center for American Progress report released today uses firsthand interviews with civilian representatives, finding that, while there were pockets of success, the overall nationwide effort did not add up to strategic shifts for a more stable Afghanistan.

 “Despite the efforts of thousands of dedicated and talented public servants, sustainable, nationwide progress in improving Afghanistan’s political and economic stability remains in doubt,” said Ariella Viehe, former Council on Foreign Relations Fellow at CAP and co-author of the report. “Overall, civilian representatives generally achieved small albeit significant changes in confined areas—a functioning school, a capable bureaucrat—but not systemic changes that established self-sufficient governance or economic growth. The recent withdrawal of most civilian representatives from Afghanistan’s provinces provides a critical moment to take stock quantitatively and qualitatively of civilian representatives as a foreign policy tool.”

 Despite these challenges and the need for future suggestions, the report concludes that civilian representatives are integral to any conflict and postconflict endeavor—particularly those conflicts without a purely military solution. But any future endeavor can and should learn from the experience in Afghanistan, improving the civilian tools that the United States can use to improve our national security.

Click here to read the report.

The Command and General Staff College Interagency Fellowship Program

STAND-TO!

What is it?

The U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Interagency Fellowship Program is a career broadening, educational opportunity for field grade officers. The program, which falls under U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's Combined Arms Center, increases the Army's understanding of integrating and collaborating with federal government interagency partners in future operations. Interagency partners include members of the Intelligence Community, Departments of State, Energy, Homeland Security, Transportation, Justice, the Agency for International Development and other key departments and agencies.

The objectives of the Fellowship are:

• (1) Enhance the Army's ability to support a comprehensive approach through partnering with governmental and nongovernmental agencies in stability operations, disaster response or humanitarian assistance.
• (2) Improve the nation's overall security-related capabilities through synchronizing common missions, and united effort with Army and interagency players.
• (3) Improve the Army's ability to interact and leverage the capabilities of various agencies through understanding their cultures and developing working relationships.
• (4) Increase understanding of the complex, joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational environment in which the Army operates with its national security partners.

What has the Army done?

The CGSC fellowship program sends key developmental/post military education level 4 Army majors or lieutenant colonels to interagency partners to work as fully integrated staff officers. Currently 46 CGSC interagency fellows serve in 24 partner agencies. To date, 193 Army officers have served as CGSC interagency fellows.

What does the Army have planned for the future?

In 2016 50 fellows will serve at 27 partner agencies. Growth will continue to a planned steady state of 55 fellows in 2017.

Why is this important to the Army?

The National Security Strategy, the Defense Strategy, the National Military Strategy and the recently released 39th Chief of Staff of the Army's Initial Message to the Army, priority #2, highlight the importance of working together with interagency partners to save resources to effectively and efficiently solve the nation's problems. Our Army learned this lesson in Iraq and Afghanistan, it must work even more closely with international, intergovernmental and interagency partners.