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Edition: U.S. Article Save Email Print Reprints Most Popular Most Shared UPDATE 2-'South Park' airs 'censored' episode after threat 1:23am EDT Obama backers show signs of disappointment 21 Apr 2010 Goldman CEO attacks SEC fraud charges: report 21 Apr 2010 North Korea torpedoed South's navy ship: report 1:35am EDT UPDATE 1-US Congress may push immigration over climate bill 21 Apr 2010 With Goldman charged, rivals smell blood 20 Apr 2010 Tim Urban out as "Idol" raises millions for charity 21 Apr 2010 Obama to urge tougher rules for Wall Street 1:12am EDT "Glee's" Madonna album eyes No. 1 on U.S. chart 21 Apr 2010 New $100 note aims to deter counterfeiters 21 Apr 2010 UPDATE 2-'South Park' airs 'censored' episode after threat 1:23am EDT UPDATE 1-US Congress may push immigration over climate bill 21 Apr 2010 Obama to urge tougher rules for Wall Street 1:12am EDT Fast-growing Facebook aims for more social Web 21 Apr 2010 With Goldman charged, rivals smell blood 20 Apr 2010 Diabetes drug tied to reduced breast cancer risk 21 Apr 2010 "South Park" airs censored episode after threat 1:30am EDT Obama backers show signs of disappointment 21 Apr 2010 Lisa Ray -- cancer-free and ready to re-embrace India 21 Apr 2010 North Korea torpedoed South's navy ship: report 1:35am EDT Pictures Editor's choice A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow Building up Afghan capacity seen as key challenge Sue Pleming QUANTICO, Virginia Thu Apr 22, 2010 1:19am EDT Related News U.S. military playing expanded role in Pakistan Mon, Apr 12 2010 Attacks in Kandahar; NATO fires on Afghan bus Mon, Apr 12 2010 U.S. seeks to heal rift with Karzai Sun, Apr 11 2010 U.S., Afghanistan's Karzai take steps to end feud Sun, Apr 11 2010 Karzai tours with McChrystal after U.S. rift Sun, Apr 11 2010 A mortar team from the U.S. Army's Centurion Company, 2-1 Infantry Battalion, 5/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team fire a 60mm round from a hand held tube outside Combat Outpost Terminator in Maiwand District, Kandahar Province April 21, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Tim Wimborne QUANTICO, Virginia (Reuters) - When U.S. forces went in to clear the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in February, the hope was that local Afghan government could step in fast, but that has proved tough and underscores a countrywide challenge. World At a conference at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia, U.S. and Afghan officials listed dozens of obstacles in building up "Afghan capacity" and boosting credibility of a government seen by many as inefficient and corrupt. The Afghan government's past inability to deliver services and provide basic security in areas where the Taliban has been pushed out is seen as an important threat to the Obama administration's counterinsurgency strategy. In many districts, more than half of government jobs were still vacant as officials faced constant security threats and more educated candidates chose safer, more lucrative private sector work, said Jilani Popal, head of the Afghan agency seeking to boost government effectiveness. "There is an urgent need for an improvement of the human resource situation in the provinces," Popal, director of the Independent Directorate of Local Government in Afghanistan, told Marines and officials at Wednesday's symposium. In an extreme example, he said, only five out of 75 positions were filled in one district late last year, six provinces still did not have buildings for governors and others had no power. In addition, Taliban have targeted local officials -- as they did on Tuesday when a deputy mayor in Kandahar was killed after gunmen burst into a mosque while he was praying. "We have a lot of difficult days ahead of us, especially in terms of the issues of governance," said Brigadier General John Nicholson, head of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell at the Pentagon. Another problem weighing on confidence in local government was the performance of the police force which U.S. and other allies are trying to boost in order to secure areas where the Taliban are being cleared out. Nicholson said of an estimated 102,000 police in the country's force, only about 30 percent were trained. "We have a fielded force out there carrying guns that are completely untrained -- the majority of them," he said. "We are just getting out of the starting gates. We are years behind." AFGHAN ARMY Retired Colonel Jeff Haynes, who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and is now doing research and analysis there, said the Afghan Army also needed to step up and be given a stronger leadership role. He said there was often cronyism and it was hard to punish or reward people in that environment, adding that corrupt officers should be removed. "These guys are smart, they are clever people, they can do more and they are playing us. We need to stand up to that," Haynes said. The State Department's top civilian representative in southern Afghanistan, Frank Ruggiero, said the United States was working hard to create a "connection" between the people of Afghanistan and their government. In the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah, the U.S. government prepared what it dubbed a "government in a box" to extend the reach of central government to the southern town. However, that has been tough going, and Ruggiero said freedom of movement was difficult to establish in Marjah. The route into the area was still "relatively insecure" and government capacity was slowly being built up. Asked what lessons had been learned from Marjah before an expected major push in neighboring Kandahar province this summer, he said there was a need to better prioritize which officials were needed fast and to ensure they were trained in time. "If you are going to clear the area, you need to work out what the services are you need to provide soon there after clearing, so that those people are trained, hired and ready to go," Ruggiero said. The blame for poor governance could also be shared among allies and donors who had not focused enough on this during the eight-year war, several speakers at the conference said. Grant Kippen, who chaired the electoral complaints commission for the flawed election in Afghanistan last year, said there had been a giant lack of voter education from the officials taking part to those who voted. "I think a huge effort needs to go into educating public servants at all levels," he said. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham) World More from Reuters European skies open but airline schedules scrambled FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe's skies were open for business on Wednesday but, with so many planes having been grounded by the volcanic ash from Iceland, it could take days or even weeks to clear the backlog. | Video Building up Afghan capacity seen as key challenge China military paper spells out nuclear arms stance Ahmadinejad plans exodus to avert quake disaster Option of striking Iran never off the table: Pentagon North Korea torpedoed South's navy ship: report » More Top News China smells Goldman blood The cutthroat banking world knows to pounce when a competitor is in a PR mess. China in particular is well aware of how it can capitalize on Goldman's woes. Full Article Goldman Asia clients are loyal for now How bad could this get for Goldman? Paulson reassures on Goldman role Goldman Sachs David Schlesinger: What I want from the Pentagon The harrowing video of the death of two Reuters journalists in Iraq gave the world a peek at tragedy. The Pentagon can help ensure it doesn't happen again, writes Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger in The Guardian. Full Article Reuters Editors © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Analyst Research Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Labs Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

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