US readies $1 bln in aid for Afghan reconstruction

The Bush administration is preparing a $1 billion aid package to boost reconstruction efforts in war-torn Afghanistan, US officials said yesterday.

The money could be used on a wide range of projects, including building schools and roads.

Although the US-backed government in Kabul has received pledges of about $4.5 billion in aid from international donors, much of that money has yet to arrive or was spent on humanitarian relief rather than reconstruction.

"We want to build on those successes to create a better, more hopeful future for the people of Afghanistan, and part of that effort is to ensure that all the necessary resources are devoted to advancing that goal," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with President George W. Bush to Pittsburgh.

"We're working with the Afghanistan government and the international community and (US) Congress to ensure that we devote the necessary resources to Afghanistan," he added.

US officials said the aid package would total about $1 billion, confirming a weekend report in The Washington Post.

It is unclear, however, how much of that money would be new. Congress has authorised billions of dollars in aid over four years but only $300 million has been spent.

The United States attacked Afghanistan in 2001 to overthrow the ruling Taliban, which provided shelter to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The government of Hamid Karzai then took office under the protection of US forces.

Bush once promised a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan and the United States continues to spend about $900 million a month on its military forces there.

But the bigger conflict in Iraq, the domestic economy and the approaching presidential election season have distracted Washington's attention from Karzai's problems.