NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The future of Afghanistan begins at the end of next year, after U.S. combat troops depart and Afghan forces take over for keeps.

After spending more than a half-trillion dollars, it’s difficult keeping track of the state of the Afghan security forces – army and police – amid conflicting claims about how well, and how many, of them have been trained.

So let’s pick a simpler yardstick – the hospitals the U.S. is building for the people of Afghanistan. There, concrete measures – square footage built, beds provided, how much they’ll cost to operate – are easier to assess.