USAID rejects NGO concerns over aid militarization

Aid agencies have increasingly been expressing concern about the "militarization" of aid to Afghanistan by big donors such as the USA, but the US Agency for International Development (USAID) says counterinsurgency helps aid workers to operate in insecure areas. Humanitarian organizations such as CARE International and Oxfam International argue that too much aid has been diverted to counterinsurgency activities and to areas where donors have troops. "If we are forced to be involved in counterinsurgency activities and work with [NATO-led] Provincial Reconstruction Teams and military entities, our acceptance in the communities will be demolished," said Lex Kassenberg, country director for CARE International. "This is a risk we cannot take and as a result, we have turned down funding opportunities which require working with the military and involvement in counterinsurgency," he said. NGOs have particularly accused the USA and Canada of diverting more and more aid through military channels and primarily for military and political purposes.