 Stephanie, last month you were in Afghanistan. What was the purpose of your trip and what were the places in Afghanistan you visited? A team of five CSIS personnel went over to Afghanistan, predominantly Kabul, but also down in Kandahar and Helmand, which two areas in the south, areas which have seen them fiercest fighting in the war to date. Our primary purpose, though, was not to look at the security situation, it was to look at the economy of Afghanistan and ways in which the U.S. government can help it along. What were some of the findings of your experience there and how much has Afghanistan grown in the last decade and is the growth accelerating? Our primary purpose was to talk to not only U.S. government officials in Afghanistan, but to local vendors, the Afghans themselves, to talk to them about how their businesses were doing. Back in 2002, at the very start of this operation, the economy was very much agriculturally based and as anyone would tell you in development, the basis for furthering the economies of countries is manufacturing, so we were looking at both agriculture and manufacturing base to see really where we can help the most. Has there been a shift away from the poppy trade, the illicit drug trade, to more legitimate agricultural endeavors? I really wish there was a good news story here, but if you look at the UN's numbers, the poppy trade is a robust cash crop for Afghan farmers. It's really difficult to shift them away from such an easy crop. It is actually not that intensive a crop to grow and it's very easy to sell given the world demand for it, to shift them towards things like almond trees, fruit trees, things that can grow in the very rough climate of Afghanistan and that are sellable on the international marketplace. But it hasn't happened. It hasn't happened. In fact, agriculture has seen truncated growth in recent years. They are trying to shift towards manufacturing. That has been in large part to the U.S. government and coalition donations to help things like textiles, things like shoes, things that can not only be bought in Afghanistan but can be a comparative advantage within the region and be sold across the border. So are there any bright spots? Are there any good stories that you found over there? I will say Afghan people are very resilient people. They've had to be over the last few decades. And then when you talk to them, they want to give you everything. They want to not only be the transportation for your goods from point A to point B, but they want to provide those goods to you. So you see a lot of travel agencies, for example. Travel agent owners telling you that they want to grow pomegranates for exports, that they want to create the shoes that you're wearing or the clothes that you're wearing. And I think that is a really good news story. We have a lot of business people in Afghanistan wanting to take that next step. Interesting. What can the U.S. government do to better support Afghanistan's development? From the very beginning in Afghanistan, we've been so focused on building facilities for our troops, helping our diplomats along rule of law, governance lines. Economic development is really the next step. And we need to study what sectors are the most viable for sustainable growth in Afghanistan when the U.S. government departs, or at least when the U.S. military departs by the end of 2014, there may be a slight recession because we've infused so much Department of Defense money. The goal right now for the U.S. government, the way in which we could be most helpful, is to identify those sectors and help them along so that it is sustainable growth in the future. Let's just talk about the drawdown. What kind of impact do you think that's going to have on the economy? The U.S. military withdrawal will have a tremendous impact on the Afghan economy. Not only will the troops be leaving and therefore not require construction, not require some of the services that Afghan people provide, but they're going to take their money with them. A lot of our foreign assistance to Afghanistan has been funneled through the Department of Defense, whether it's through something called the Commander's Emergency Response Program, which is fast infusions of money to local economies, ranging from that all the way to hiring people to deliver gravel to bases. And so when the U.S. military withdraws, if they take all of that money with them, you are absolutely going to see a recession. And you're going to lose jobs and there's going to be... So is there any plan right now for the U.S. to try to help mitigate that? There is an office within the Pentagon, oddly enough, called the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations. Its mandate is to help private sector investment to get U.S. companies and international companies involved in the Afghan economy so that when the U.S. military withdraws and takes its money with it, that there is some sort of backstop for sustainable growth. Again, U.S. government is trying to identify sectors that are comparatively good within the region for Afghanistan to be able to export across its borders, but it's going to need a lot more private investment and perhaps also donations from other countries. But it's almost a double-edged sword because with military, with U.S. military withdrawing, it provides a less secure climate for international business, correct? Absolutely. There is two sides of this coin, and not to be funny about the counterintensity acronym, but there are two sides to this coin. One is you need security to create an environment in which businesses can thrive, but you also need an economy that will take people off the streets and get them jobs as opposed to, for example, implanting improvised explosive devices along the roadside. And so it is a delicate balance you need to strike between security and economic security. And that's something where I think the U.S. government needs to spend quite a bit more time thinking. Stephanie Sannick, thank you very much for your time. Thanks.