Afghanistan  

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A mountainous and land-locked country in South-Central Asia, Afghanistan is of strategic importance as it connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. For the last several decades it has been in a continuous state of war and in 2001 the object of a U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime.

The NATO–led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was created on 20 December 2001 by the UN Security Council, S/RES/1386 (2001), in an effort to maintain security in a region rife with all manner of conflict and intrigue. Efforts by the international community have been underway to rebuild the country, establish stability and effective governmental authority, and end the Taliban insurgency. 

July 2011 is the target date for the initial drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. At this point, however, serious challenges remain. More than two decades of conflict have destroyed much of Afghanistan’s limited infrastructure and disrupted normal patterns of social, political, and economic activity, and there still exists a Taliban insurgency that continues to threaten stability in the region.