According to Mike Allen at Politico:
A top official e-mails: “Stan McChrystal’s exit from Afghanistan not only affects military personnel, but is an opportunity for the civilian side of the equation — which has not gotten nearly the credit it deserves for its many successes on the ground, despite of the shenanigans at the top of the Kabul food chain — to shift around some. USAID Administrator Raj Shah is ramping up his in-house expertise on Afghanistan and Pakistan with the additions of Alex Thier, Kay McGowan and Craig Mullaney. Thier, who is widely recognized as a leading thinker on Afghanistan policy, comes from [the United States Institute of Peace] to head up a new policy shop at AID. McGowan is being seconded from State and was a key player on Zal Khalilzad’s team in Kabul. Mullaney, a former Army Ranger and Rhodes scholar, joins Shah’s team from the Office of the Secretary of Defense.”
This good news will resurrect the USAID policy shop that was abolished / replace when State stood up the Director of Foreign Assistance.
