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Summary:
Afghanistan is stabilizing after more than 22 years of warfare, including a U.S.led war that brought the current government to power. Successful presidential elections held on October 9, 2004 appear to be accelerating political and economic reconstruction. The report of the 9/11 Commission recommended a long-term commitment to a secure and stable Afghanistan. Legislation passed in December 2004 to implement those recommendations (P.L. 108-458) contains provision on Afghanistan, although most of these Commission's recommendations had already formed a major part of the U.S. policy framework for Afghanistan. Since the defeat of the Taliban, Afghanistan no longer serves as a safe base of operations for Al Qaeda. Afghan citizens are enjoying new personal freedoms that were forbidden under the Taliban, about 3 million Afghan refugees have returned, and women are participating in economic and political life. Political reconstruction is slowly following the route laid out by major Afghan factions and the international community during the U.S.-led war. A loya jirga (traditional Afghan assembly) adopted a new constitution on January 4, 2004. Presidential and parliamentary elections were to be held by June 2004, but security concerns and factional infighting caused presidential elections to be postponed until October 9, 2004, and parliamentary elections to be put off until at least the spring of 2005. The presidential elections were held amid high turnout and minimal violence, although some of the challengers to interim president Hamid Karzai alleged widespread fraud. Interim president Karzai was declared first round winner on November 3, 2004; his opponents accepted that result. A new cabinet, broadly balanced factionally but emphasizing skills over political alignments, was sworn in December 27, 2004. Aside from a weakening but persistent Taliban insurgency, remaining obstacles to stability include the continued local authority of militias controlled by regional leaders and growing narcotics trafficking. U.S. stabilization measures focus on strengthening the central government and its security forces. The United States and other countries are building an Afghan National Army; deploying a multinational International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to patrol Kabul and other cities; running regional enclaves to create secure conditions for reconstruction (Provincial Reconstruction Teams, PRTs); and disarming militia fighters. Approximately 18,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan to continue to combat the Taliban-led insurgency. To build security institutions and assist reconstruction, the United States gave Afghanistan a total of almost $1.8 billion for FY2004, most of which was provided in a supplemental appropriation (P.L. 108-106). Almost all U.S. and international sanctions imposed prior to and during Taliban rule have been removed. This paper will be updated as warranted by major developments. See also CRS Report RS21922, Afghanistan: Presidential and Parliamentary Elections and CRS Report RL32686, Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy.
