JENNIFER LUDDEN, Host: To find out more, we're joined by NPR's Kabul bureau chief, Quill Lawrence. Hi there, Quill.</s>QUILL LAWRENCE: Good morning.</s>JENNIFER LUDDEN, Host: What is the scope of this civilian surge?</s>QUILL LAWRENCE: The budget for USAID is to four billion dollars this year, so it's a vast effort.</s>JENNIFER LUDDEN, Host: And how's it going? I mean, what kind of challenges is this effort running into?</s>QUILL LAWRENCE: And it's very hard to hire qualified people in Afghanistan, which is one of the biggest problems with waste and corruption here.</s>JENNIFER LUDDEN, Host: Would you have any sense of, you know, are Afghans receptive to these kinds of reforms?</s>QUILL LAWRENCE: So there's just a lot of capacity that needs to be built. And when you hear a foreign organization talking about wanting a quick impact rule of law improvement project, well, the answer of most of the aid communities, such a thing doesn't exist. You need to go through education and get an educated population that in a couple of decades might be able to improve a justice system, for example.</s>JENNIFER LUDDEN, Host: The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, was in Kabul today as part of this civilian push. What's that about?</s>QUILL LAWRENCE: And she's also meeting with high level Afghan government officials, including President Karzai.</s>JENNIFER LUDDEN, Host: NPR's Quill Lawrence in Kabul. Thanks so much.</s>QUILL LAWRENCE: Thank you. Happy New Year.
Progress in Afghanistan this year will depend on how the U.S. surge there plays out — not just the military surge but another, less well-known influx of civilians. The United States and NATO have sent a legion of reformers with the difficult task of fostering good governance. It's this effort that may ultimately determine the lasting success of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. Guest host Jennifer Ludden talks with NPR's Quil Lawrence about the large, coordinated U.S. civilian effort in Afghanistan.