URUZGAN, AFGHANISTAN - Four governors from Regional Command South Afghanistan meet for the second governor's conference with Kabul representatives, hosted by Uruzgan's Governor Asadullah Hamdam at his palace, Nov. 15, 2008. Security on the premises was a cooperative effort between the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police. International Security Force Afghanistan provided transportation for the event. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communications Specialist Petty Officer 1st Class Monica R. Nelson

Dr. Hamish Gulab, Sarkani provincial sub governor (left), Mer Azam Gujoorwall, Marawara provincial sub-governor (center) and Fazullah Wahidi, Kunar provincial governor, cut a ribbon marking the completion of the Nawabad to Marawara road Oct. 26. The road was started 12 months ago and represents a $2.7 million investment that paves the way for increased security and commerce in the Marawara district. Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team Photo by Tech. Sgt. Brian Boisvert

From left to right: Jamaluddin Badar, Nuristan provincial governor, Fazlullah Wahidi, Kunar provincial governor, Gul Agha Sherzai, Nangarhar provincial governor, and Lutfullah Mashal, Langham provincial governor, listen to speakers during the the first regional Jirga to talk about peace, prosperity and the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. The provincial governors of Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan and Langham and elders representing tribes, villages and districts gathered at the Nangarhar governor’s compound to lay out their homegrown plan to improve the security and development of the four easternmost Afghanistan provinces Oct. 22, 2009. More than 300 leaders and elders attended the Jirga, which has an overarching purpose to engage anti-government elements and the local population to bring them closer to the government, while maintaining a close relationship with Coalition Forces. (Air Force photo by Capt. Tony Wickman/RELEASED)

Fazullah Wahidi, (center) Kunar provincial governor, addresses Kunar Province’s district sub-governors at a meeting at the governor’s compound in Asadabad, Afghanistan, about the Commander’s Emergency Response Program budget and how the money will be allocated to each district, Jan 27. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Brian Boisvert, PRT Kunar Public Affairs/RELEASED)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (September 23) – Governors from all six of Afghanistan’s southern provinces met at Kandahar Airfield on August 5 to discuss agricultural development in southern Afghanistan. The Governors met over several hours along with other Afghan officials and representatives of the International Security Assistance Force. Present were Governors Sultan Ali Oruzgani – Daykundi, Tooryali Wesa - Kandahar, Gulab Mangal - Helmand, Dastagir Azad – Nimruz, Assadulah Hamdam – Uruzgan, and Mohammad Ashraf Nasseri – Zabul. (ISAF photos)

From left to right: Jamaluddin Badar, Nuristan provincial governor, Lutfullah Mashal, Langham provincial governor, Gul Agha Sherzai, Nangarhar provincial governor, and Fazlullah Wahidi, Kunar provincial governor, huddle together prior to the start of the first regional Jirga Oct. 22, 2009, to talk about peace, prosperity and the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. The governor’s laid out their homegrown plan to improve the security and development of the four easternmost Afghanistan provinces to more than 300 leaders and elders from tribes, villages and districts in the four eastern provinces at the Nangarhar governor’s compound. The overarching purpose of the Jirga is to engage anti-government elements and the local population to bring them closer to the government, while maintaining a close relationship with Coalition Forces. (Air Force photo by Capt. Tony Wickman/RELEASED)

Haji Mohamad Rahman, (far right) Manogai district sub-governor, speaks to Gul Zalmay, (far left) Watapur district sub-governor, prior to the start of a road security jirga in Manogai District, Feb. 6. Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Afghanistan Engineer District North, Task Force Lethal Warrior and Afghanistan National Army, along with provincial and district leaders and tribal elders from Kunar and Nuristan provinces, conducted the jirga to address ongoing security issues and seek solutions affecting road projects spanning Kunar and Nuristan provinces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Brian Boisvert, Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs/RELEASED)

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Maj. Matt Ciancarelli, the Civil Affairs Group Officer for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, sits down with Ayoub Omar, the assistant district governor of Garmsir, Afghanistan, just before the opening ceremony of the Kharko School in the Kharko village Dec. 27, 2009. The Marines of the CAG, 2/2, helped hold an opening ceremony for the school after 45 days of repairs and five years of closer due to earlier fighting in Garmsir. (Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dwight A. Henderson)

A group of Afghan men address the Nawa District governor Abdul Manaf, during a shura with Marines of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, in Nawa District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Nov. 10. Local Afghans gathered at the shura to discuss their issues and concerns. Citizens were asked to work together to defeat enemy insurgents causing problems in Nawa, by the District Governor Abdul Manaf.

Commander Task Force - Uruzgan, Brigadier Kees Van Den Heuvel, and Deputy Governor of Oruzgan, Khoday Rahim sat side-by-side during a recent Shura held in the Southern Baluchi Valley Region. Within ten days of the close of Operation Jenub Fayda in the Mirabad Valley Region, Australian representatives from the 1st Mentoring Task Force (MTF1), AusAid and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade joined with Afghan government officials, Afghan Army and Police representatives as well as Dutch representatives and community leaders for a Shura to discuss security and development issues in the area. The Shura, involving about 50 people proved a success with many of the discussions reaching agreement with a clear demonstration of a coming together of thoughts and goals between many of the attendees. Jenub Fayda (Southern Advantage) was a major combined ANA and MTF1 security operation that was designed to facilitate Afghan government development opportunities in liaison with the local community. The operation, conducted in April 2010, helped set the conditions for enhanced development with a focus on education, health and works. (Photo courtesy Australian Government Department of Defence)

MAIDEN SHAHR, Afghanistan--Haji Muhammed Hazret Jaman, Chief of the Wardak Provincial Council, meets with district chiefs outside of the Wardak governor's compound on Dec. 9, 2008. People gathered at the governor's compound for the distribution of meat donated by the Turkish government as part of the first day of the Islamic Bayram celebration. ISAF photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Aramis X. Ramirez (RELEASED)

A Major in the Afghan National Army and the Sub-governor of the Sabari District Afghanistan discuss security issues during a meeting with members of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Afghan National Security Forces at Coalition Outpost Sabari, January 23, 2010. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Jeffrey Alexander/Released)

URUZGAN, AFGHANISTAN - Four governors from Regional Command South Afghanistan meet for the second governor's conference with Kabul representatives, hosted by Uruzgan's Governor Asadullah Hamdam at his palace, Nov. 15, 2008. Security on the premises was a cooperative effort between the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police. International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan provided transportation for the event. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Petty Officer 1st Class Monica R. Nelson

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. William McCollough, the commander of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, and Anderson Cooper, of CNN, dine with Abdul Manaf, the governor of the Nawa district, Sept. 7, 2009, in the Nawa district of the Helmand province of Afghanistan. (DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Jeremy Harris, U.S. Marine Corps/Released)

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Ayoub Omar, the assistant district governor of Garmsir, Afghanistan, hands a key over to and shakes the hand of Habib Omar, the head of the Kharko School in the Kharko village, in Garmsir, Afghanistan, to symbolize the opening of the school Dec. 27, 2009. The Marines of the Civil Affairs Group, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, helped hold an opening ceremony for the school after 45 days of repairs and five years of closer due to earlier fighting in Garmsir. (Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dwight A. Henderson)

MSG Chris Hecker, from St. Pauls, N.C., Civil Affairs Team Leader, Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, speaks with Abdul Azim, Sub Governor of the Waghez District, Ghazni, Afghanistan, Nov. 2 on the building of a new district center for the district. (Combined Joint Task Force - 82 PAO Photo by Tech. Sgt. Rebecca Corey)

POR CHAMAN, Afghanistan (May 10, 2010) – Farah Provincial Governor Rahool Amin, left, speaks with Por Chaman District Sub-Governor Saleem, center, and Gustavo Mejia, United States Department of State, right, about a girls’ school in Por Chaman, Afghanistan, May 10, 2010. The newly constructed, two-story girls’ school will be opened shortly, upon arrival of teachers and school materials from the Ministry of Education. The visit of Amin signifies the first visit by the governor and the first visit by Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Farah in over two years due to the remote location and limited accessibility to the district. The trip, supported by the PRT, included visits to the local girls’ school, the Ministry of Health facility, a bridge, and a poppy field which was destroyed in front of government representatives by local residents in the village. Amin vowed more trips will be conducted in the near future by the provincial government to fully support the district and to provide reconstruction efforts if necessary. (ISAF photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Rylan K. Albright