[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E107-E108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION, MAJOR GENERAL 
                         ARNOLD FIELDS' WARNING

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, the outgoing Special Inspector General for 
Afghanistan Reconstruction, Major General Arnold Fields, issued a last 
warning yesterday before moving on from his post.
  Fields warned that over $11 billion of U.S. aid is at risk, citing 
insufficient planning and a lack of oversight. The $11 billion are 
funds designated to build facilities to house and train Afghan security 
forces.
  The lack of security in Afghanistan also poses a problem, placing any 
potentially beneficial projects that are completed at risk. Even if all 
the facilities scheduled to be built are completed, does Afghanistan 
have the capability to protect and maintain them?

[[Page E108]]

  A March 2010 report by the United Nations states that there is a 
``massive human rights deficit'' in Afghanistan, with 36 percent of the 
population living in absolute poverty and another 37 percent living 
just above the poverty line. Only 23 percent of the country has access 
to clean water. This, despite the billions of dollars in reconstruction 
and development aid we have funneled into the country.
  So where is our money going? We know that President Karzai and his 
cronies are living large, while the rest of the country falters. It is 
time to bring our troops home.

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