Farhad Saffi is feeling dismayed as he looks out over his Milli Boot Factory in Kabul, where machinery that once produced thousands of boots for police and army personnel now sits idle and covered in plastic. Saffi is worried that this marks the end of a dream for Afghanistan. The factory, which was a symbol of local manufacturing and provided jobs for many, is now facing closure due to a decision by the US to shift procurement to the Afghan government, who opted for cheaper boots from China and Pakistan. This sudden change has left Saffi with a significant amount of unused raw materials and a sense of betrayal by the government. When the plant opened, Afghan and US generals were eager to take photos alongside a local success story in huge white sheds that were once used for PVC piping machinery but now house advanced German injection molding and boot-making equipment. In 2010, US Navy Rear Admiral Kathleen Dussault visited to present Saffi, a 23-year-old, with a quality certificate allowing the plant to supply high-quality boots to the Afghan National Security Forces under contracts valued at up to $40 million annually. Saffi's leather boots, which underwent rigorous quality testing in the United States, were sold for $62 a pair, compared to Chinese-made boots with imitation leather costing the Afghan government $22 per pair in a contract for up to 700,000 pairs per year. Despite being asked by the Afghan government to sell his boots for $15 a pair, Saffi explained that the cost of the leather alone was $40, emphasizing that the government prioritized low prices over quality. The inexpensive Chinese boots, made of fake leather, tend to fall apart quickly. From 2002 until the end of 2011, the US government spent $85.5 billion on reconstruction in Afghanistan, with an additional $57 billion in international aid flowing into the country. NATO-led forces, responsible for purchasing for the Afghan security forces during the decade-long war, have followed "Afghan First" rules since 2010, prioritizing purchases from local companies to stimulate the economy, create jobs, and support anti-insurgent efforts. These contracts, which included items such as uniforms, boots, textiles, furniture, tents, software, and transformers, resulted in the creation of 15,000 jobs and saved $650 million on combat-related imports. Despite these savings, this amount is still a small fraction of the $200 million spent on the war each day. The Afghan First Policy aims to prevent individuals from joining the Afghan Taliban by providing them with better job opportunities and incomes. This is particularly important as the withdrawal of most NATO combat troops in 2014 has left many unemployed workers considering joining the Taliban for the $10-a-day payment. Some of the 700 workers laid off from Saffi's factory are now contemplating this option as they see no other future without the factory reopening. "We have families to support," stated Ares Khan, age 23, as he packed some of the final boots being produced by Milli unless there is a change of heart from the government. Workers at the factory were earning between $400 and $900 per month, which was significantly higher than the average wage in a country where nearly a third of the 30 million population live below the poverty line. However, many business owners and workers are concerned that security will deteriorate as Western countries leave, taking job opportunities and investment funds with them to safer locations, as Afghanistan's wealthy elite have been doing for years. Khan's friend, Khair Mohammad, who moved to Kabul from Ghazni province where NATO forces are currently involved in one of the last major offensives of the war, also believes there is no future outside of the insurgency if the Afghan government stops providing job opportunities. "There are sixteen people in my family and I am the only breadwinner." Mohammad stated that when he returns to Ghazni, he will need to join the Taliban due to the high cost of living in Afghanistan. The decision to allocate a significant portion of procurement to Afghan authorities was made in March as part of the transition to Afghan security and control, according to US Navy Lieutenant Aaron Kakiel. Kakiel mentioned that Afghan companies have provided a variety of products and services for the country's security forces, including boots, uniforms, sleeping bags, construction, and IT services, as the forces are expected to reach 352,000 in number. Milli is not the only company facing challenges with the shift to local procurement, as other suppliers of uniforms and equipment are also concerned about their contracts ending or losing business to foreign competitors. Another company executive, who preferred to remain anonymous due to fears of backlash from Afghan military buyers, revealed that his company has invested millions but now faces uncertainty as their contracts are up for renewal. The executive expressed uncertainty about whether the government will continue to contract with them or choose other companies from different countries. Lieutenant-General Abdul Basir Asafzari, in charge of logistics and procurement at the Ministry of Defence, stated that his company had imported materials from the US for products manufactured in Kabul, which would be rendered useless without contract agreements. He expressed the need to lay off employees if contracts were not secured. Currently, only 30 percent of the supplies are sourced from Afghan companies, as President Hamid Karzai has directed the military to prioritize local firms. Asafzari explained that Milli had its contracts terminated due to importing substandard boots from China and other countries, then rebranding them. He emphasized that the Milli boot company failed to fulfill its obligations. Asafzari mentioned that some soldiers had complaints about the quality of the boots. However, Mohammad Akbar Ahmadzai from the NGO Building Markets, which supports entrepreneurs in developing countries to create jobs and investments, stated that Milli's boots were genuine and passed US quality tests. Other business experts, who preferred to remain anonymous, suggested that Milli and other companies may have faced challenges due to bribery and favoritism in Afghanistan, with more well-connected competitors trying to eliminate them. Kakiel from NATO added that Milli and others might have also misunderstood the contract terms, which only guaranteed one year of sales. In 2011, US agencies contracted over $4 billion to Afghan companies out of a total of $17.3 billion through the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. More than 90 percent of the money was spent on products purchased from Afghan sellers (49 percent), construction (28 percent), support services (11 percent), and transportation (6 percent). However, an audit conducted by the US government's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in January revealed that the Afghan First Initiative (AFI) had faced challenges such as insufficient contract solicitation and vetting, as well as limited data on claimed employment benefits. Saffi, who fled Afghanistan during Taliban rule and returned in 2002 to find everything destroyed, expressed doubt in both the US government and the future promised by Karzai due to his experiences. He stated, "We tried to do a good job here in this factory, but right now this has happened. The only judgment we can make is that my company and the country are going the same way." He stated that many individuals in Kabul's business community were feeling anxious due to the uncertain investment environment and worsening security situation. This feeling was further intensified by a bold Taliban attack on the city center and neighboring provinces in mid-April. Saffi mentioned that he had to hire 30 personal bodyguards to ensure the safety of his children while they attend school, as well as having police snipers stationed on the roof of his home. He compared the situation of his struggling company to the state of the country, with himself as the president of his company and Karzai as the president of the country. As he struggles to manage his company and sees his employees leaving, he sees parallels with the challenges faced by the country. The country will experience the same fate. The president needs to effectively govern his nation.