* US auditor for Afghanistan reconstruction departs Feb. 4
* US Congress may push for vigorous aid oversight
By Missy Ryan
WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The resignation of the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction has intensified the challenge to President Barack Obama's administration to show progress in rebuilding Afghanistan before American troops begin pulling out in July.
The decision by Arnold Fields, a retired Marine major general, to resign effective Feb. 4, came as some critics are urging Obama to find a more aggressive watchdog who can focus attention on flushing out civilian corruption and shortcomings in the Afghan government.
"Given the amount of money going into Afghanistan you would think there would be many sets of eyes looking at how it's being spent," said Danielle Brian, director of the Project on Government Oversight, an independent advocacy group.
"When you get money leaving the country in bags, this should be an all-points bulletin." <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Full coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan [ID:nAFPAK]
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U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks have given accounts of endemic corruption in Afghanistan. One report said officials in the United Arab Emirates stopped a former Afghan vice president entering the country with ${esc.dollar}52 million. The former official denied the allegation.
U.S. programs to rebuild Afghanistan -- a ${esc.dollar}56-billion effort that has brought only mixed results since 2002 -- will take center stage as Obama seeks to demonstrate progress on security and governance so he can begin withdrawing troops.
Yet foreign reconstruction programs since the ouster of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers in 2001 have been hobbled by insecurity, corruption, poor governance, overlapping aid work and the sheer difficulty of trying to transform a deeply poor tribal nation where only 28 percent of people are literate.
FIELDS FACED INTENSE CRITICISM
A White House official said the office of the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, or SIGAR, is seen as playing a vital role in the U.S. campaign.
After Fields' resignation, "the administration will look to find someone who can get us through the next phase," the official said.
Fields, a soft-spoken lifelong soldier who also worked in Iraq, was criticized by some U.S. lawmakers for poor leadership and plodding work during his tenure. Critics say this resulted in a failure to spot major instances of waste and abuse and endangered U.S. troops trying to weaken the Taliban.
Fields countered that he built SIGAR from scratch at a time when a confusing labyrinth of U.S. and other contractors and agencies had already taken root seven years into the war.
The new Republican-controlled House of Representatives, seeking to cut spending and rein in the ballooning U.S debt, may probe aid efforts by the Obama administration, which last year rolled out a surge in civilian officials in Afghanistan.
Republicans may use corruption as a weapon to cut civilian funding in Afghanistan. [ID:nN04245164]
SIGAR is not the only organization tasked with oversight of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.
The State Department, the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) all have inspectors general. But the creation of SIGAR in 2008 took the pressure off those offices by taking the lead on Afghanistan.
While there has been talk of doing away with SIGAR and creating a new umbrella organization to oversee U.S. civilian efforts in all combat areas abroad, it appears for now the White House will simply move ahead with replacing Fields.
"We are committed to minimizing waste, fraud and abuse in our reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, and strong and effective (inspector) operations in Afghanistan are important to those efforts," said Dan Feldman, Obama's deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Editing by Christopher Wilson)
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