The United States is expected to pledge roughly $10 billion in aid for Afghanistan at a donors conference to be held in Paris on Thursday, a Bush administration official said.
The official, who spoke on condition that he not be named because Washington has not yet unveiled its pledge, also said he expected the conference to garner more than $15 billion in total pledges, including the US contribution.
Donor states, military powers and regional players will seek a more effective strategy for Afghanistan's development and security as well as pledging funds at the conference. Afghanistan will ask officials from around 65 countries at the gathering to fund a $50 billion five-year development plan, for which donors will demand that Kabul do more to fight corruption in what is one of the world's poorest states.
Speaking to reporters at a briefing on Tuesday, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher declined to specify the US pledge or the total amount of pledges he expected. He did say that he expected the total to be "substantially more" than the $10.5 billion promised at a London conference two years ago.
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