Standoff with Taliban leaves big Afghan dam project in limbo - International Herald Tribune

IHT has a great article on the seemingly desperate efforts to bring stability to Helmand Province via reconstruction projects. The cycle seems like that experienced in Iraq: initial attempts were made with a variety of largely private sector actors; insurgents/rebels starting direct attacks on the projects; civilian operators fled, and now a militarized USAID project does all it can to try and rebuild under fire.