Afghanistan is a state struggling to become a viable free and democratic nation. As one of the poorest countries in the world, it is heavily dependent on assistance from the international community to help rebuild the society, health and education of its people, and infrastructure destroyed during almost three decades of war. The Government of Afghanistan developed the Afghanistan National Development Strategy to guide them along the path to becoming a viable member of the world community. This paper, through the case study method, examines the current state of international assistance to the Government of Afghanistan. It also looks at the requirements needed over the next seven years to become a self-sustaining state that were identified by the Afghan Government in their Securing Afghanistan's Future report. Finally, it provides recommendations to improve the effectiveness of reconstruction aid, which, in turn, will increase the chance that the Government of Afghanistan will achieve their goal of becoming a self-sustaining, respected member of the international community.