Two planned for Afghanistan

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to open new consulates in the "tough and hopeless corners of the world." Consulates, which are similar to embassies, are usually located in populous centers in foreign countries, and provide various services to national citizens. They are also responsible for fostering economic, commercial, scientific and cultural relations between the country they represent and the area in which they are located.

To rate this promise, we went straight to the source: the U.S. Department of State, which oversees all U.S. consulates abroad. A spokesman told us that since President Obama took office on January 20, 2009, the agency has notified Congress of its plan to open two new consulates in Afghanistan, one in the city of Mazari Sharif and the other in Herat. There are ongoing discussions to open additional consulates in other countries, but these are only in preliminary stages.

"Tough and hopeless" are subjective descriptions, but there is little doubt that Afghan citizens face a very, very wide array of challenges. The country has a 28 percent adult literacy rate, the average life expectancy at birth is only 43.6 years, and 39 percent of children under five are underweight.

With two new consulates expected to open and with ongoing deliberations inside the U.S. State Department, we rate this one In the Works.