Afghanistan is being stifled by military operations | Mark Curtis | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "Five years after Britain deployed forces to Helmand 
province in Afghanistan it is becoming clear that British and US policies in the country are not helping but setting back development prospects.Although more children now go to school and health services have improved, it is remarkable how little Afghanistan has progressed, given that it is the world's most aid-dependent country, with 90% of its budget financed by donors. One in five children die before the age of five and one in eight women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
There are few signs that donor support is improving. Hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted while up to 80% of donations return to donor countries in corporate profits or consultants' salaries.
Aid itself has become militarised. Nato's use of the military to deliver much of the aid – essentially as part of its counterinsurgency strategy – turns aid personal and projects into targets for the insurgents. It doesn't help that CIA agents also use aid teams as cover to gather intelligence. Unicef has reported that military operations are making more than 40% of the country inaccessible to humanitarian workers for extended periods. Thus military operations, far from paving the way for development, are undermining it."
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