Reports by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are all too easily dismissed by some in Washington, partly because of a deep-seated distrust of the United Nations but also because the UNDP itself has often been overly critical of the United States. That said, the UNDP?s latest report on Afghanistan should be taken seriously for two key reasons. Firstly, the forward for the report was written by none other than Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who gives it substantial credibility. Secondly, if this pessimistic report about the ?perilous? situation in Afghanistan is only partially correct, this should be a cause for serious concern in Washington. This is because, as the report itself points out, failure in Afghanistan would pose a threat not just to the Afghan people but to the international community as well.

The UNDP report gives a mixed picture of the overall state of Afghanistan and does highlight some successes, including a booming economy and record numbers of high school enrolments. However, the report also highlights a litany of negatives, which it concludes has ensured that Afghanistan remains the world?s sixth-least developed country. The tone of the report seems to blame the international community in general and the United States in particular for the lack of substantial improvement in several key areas since the country was invaded in 2001. However, it fails to take adequate account of the fact that some of these negatives are as a direct result of decades of instability, conflict, and repression and are not the fault of external parties.