A Contemporary "Blueprint" for North Atlantic Treaty Organization Provisional Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan?

The coalition and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO face a complex and difficult challenge in their search for solutions to the Afghan conundrum. The establishment of Provisional Reconstruction Teams PRTs represents a revolutionary step in meeting this challenge. The PRT program combines security and civil action to facilitate regional development. PRTs afford an important interface and make possible information-sharing among the local population and government, non-government, and international aid organizations. Despite their diminutive size, PRTs possess an innate ability to influence a significant proportion of Afghanistans rural population, thereby reinforcing regional stability. Notwithstanding common agendas, significant variances exist between coalition and NATO PRTs. Inconsistencies in modus operandi, perceived mandates, roles and responsibilities, national caveats, and operational structures have all faced criticism. With international pressure mounting for the International Security Assistance Force ISAF to take the lead throughout Afghanistan, this study of existing PRTs is not only timely, but it also provides constructive insight for those nations contemplating support of the reconstruction effort. This investigation should also be useful to those nations who staff existing PRTs in the north and northwest and who may be considering transferring their efforts to the southern or southeastern regions, the most insecure and challenging areas of Afghanistan. This monograph provides an overview of Afghanistans recent history, reviews the contemporary causes of internal instability, describes the international response to this instability, and analyses three existing approaches to PRTs those of the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. It also identifies and evaluates a number of PRT tactical and operational lessons learned. The monograph concludes by combining lessons learned into a recommended PRT blueprint.