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Summary:
U.S. and outside assessments of the effort to stabilize Afghanistan are mixed; the Administration notes progress on reconstruction, governance and security in many areas of Afghanistan, but says the mission is still "under-resourced" to address escalating insurgent activity in some sectors, particularly the east and the consistently restive south. Recent outside studies emphasize a growing sense of insecurity in areas previously considered secure, increased numbers of suicide attacks, increasing aggregate poppy cultivation, and growing divisions within the NATO alliance about total troop contributions and the relative share of combat primarily in the south. Both the official U.S. as well as outside assessments are increasingly pointing to Pakistan, and particularly the new Pakistani government, as failing to prevent Taliban and other militant infiltration from Pakistan. With available U.S. forces short, the Administration is anticipating adding U.S. troops to the Afghanistan theater, reorganizing the command structure for U.S. and partner forces, and expanding the Afghan National Army. The Administration also has increased direct U.S. action against Taliban concentrations inside Pakistan. Politically, the Afghan central government is relatively stable, but it is perceived as weak and rife with corruption. The post-Taliban transition was completed with the convening of a parliament in December 2005 following September 2005 parliamentary elections. A new constitution was adopted in January 2004, and presidential elections were held on October 9, 2004. The parliament has become an arena for factions that have fought each other for nearly three decades to peacefully resolve differences, as well as a center of political pressure on President Hamid Karzai. Major regional strongmen have been marginalized. Afghan citizens are enjoying personal freedoms forbidden by the Taliban, and women are participating in economic and political life. Presidential elections are to be held in the fall of 2009, with parliamentary and provincial elections to follow one year later. The United States and partner countries now deploy a 53,000 troop NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that commands peacekeeping throughout Afghanistan. Of those, about 23,000 of the 34,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan are part of ISAF; the remainder are conducting anti-terrorism missions under Operation Enduring Freedom. 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 $25 billion (appropriated, including FY2008 to date) since the fall of the Taliban, of which about $17 billion was to equip and train the security forces. About $2 billion in reconstruction aid was requested for FY2009, including in a FY2009 supplemental request. Breakdowns are shown in the tables at the end. 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.
