Afghanistan Donors Conference
With concerns mounting in Congress about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, Secretary Clinton and Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke will attend a donors conference in Kabul July 20 as part of the largest gathering of foreign leaders in Afghanistan since the 1970s. Co-chaired by the Government of Afghanistan and the United Nations, the conference will reinforce U.S. support for the Afghan Government’s plans to assume lead responsibility for security and development. The conference comes on the heels of yesterday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on “Governance and the Civilian Strategy” in Afghanistan. During the hearing, Democrats and Republicans on the panel expressed concerns about the way forward in the country. It’s not clear that the administration has a solid strategy for prevailing, said Sen. Kerry, and Sen. Lugar criticized “a lack of clarity” about U.S. goals. At the hearing, Holbrooke said at the conference next week Afghan President Karzai is expected to make commitments on strengthening the rule of law, combating corruption and building an economy.
