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• U.S. Department of State

Summary

U.S. and outside assessments of the effort to stabilize Afghanistan are mixed and subject to debate; the Administration notes progress on reconstruction, governance and security in many areas of Afghanistan. However, a November 2007 Bush Administration review of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan reportedly concluded that overall progress was inadequate, and a number of efforts to augment the U.S. stabilization effort are underway or under further consideration. Outside assessments have tended toward more pessimism, emphasizing a growing sense of insecurity in areas previously considered secure, more suicide bombings, and growing aggregate poppy cultivation, as well as increasing divisions within the NATO alliance about the relative share of combat among the nations contributing to the peacekeeping mission. Politically, the post-Taliban transition was completed with the convening of a parliament in December 2005; a new constitution was adopted in January 2004, successful presidential elections were held on October 9, 2004, and parliamentary elections took place on September 18, 2005. The parliament has become an arena for factions that have fought each other for nearly three decades to debate and peacefully resolve differences. Afghan citizens are enjoying personal freedoms forbidden by the Taliban, and women are participating in economic and political life. Elections for the presidency, the parliament, and local governing bodies are to be held in the fall of 2009. Both the official U.S. as well as outside assessments are increasingly pointing to Pakistan as failing ­ either through lack of attention or deliberate strategy ­ to prevent Taliban commanders from operating from Pakistan, largely beyond the reach of U.S./NATO-led forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan, for its part, asserts that the continuing violence in Afghanistan is caused primarily by the inability of the Afghan government to extend its authority and win the trust of the Afghan people. To help stabilize Afghanistan, the United States and partner countries are deploying a 42,000 troop NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that now commands peacekeeping throughout Afghanistan, including the restive south. Of those, 15,000 of the 27,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan are part of ISAF; the remainder are under direct U.S. command. The U.S. and partner forces also run regional enclaves to secure reconstruction (Provincial Reconstruction Teams, PRTs), and are building an Afghan National Army and National Police. The United States has given Afghanistan over $23 billion (appropriated, including FY2008 to date) since the fall of the Taliban, including funds to equip and train Afghan security forces. About $1.05 billion in economic aid is requested for FY2009. Breakdowns are shown in the several tables at the end of this paper. This paper will be updated as warranted by major developments. See also CRS Report RS21922, Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance, by Kenneth Katzman; and CRS Report RL32686, Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy, by Christopher M. Blanchard.

Related Legislation:
• S.2192

Related Reports:
• RL30588
• RL30588

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