Publication

This report assesses conditions in Afghanistan and evaluates the progress made on state and institution building by June 2005. The author reviews Afghanistan's history, the role of warlordism, Afghanistan's relations with its neighbors, and the international community's involvement. It concludes with three key points. First, the connection between narcotics trafficking and the Taliban is overemphasized. Second, the Taliban insurgency in the summer of 2005 was stronger than ever before. And third, the Taliban is not responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks in Kabul. Rather, they are a product of factional and criminal infighting.