Afghanistan, again.

• Author: Bast, Elizabeth
• Position: Essay

The reconstruction of Afghanistan is not going as smoothly as the U.S. government had hoped. A little historical perspective suggests that there may be a long--and perhaps treacherous--road ahead.

In 1996, the Taliban seized control of an Afghanistan that was on the verge of social and ecological collapse. Seventeen years of civil war had left the population exhausted from continuous violence and torturous living conditions. Average life expectancy was 44 years. Health care was minimal. Food was scarce. Guerrilla resistance to the Soviets in the 1980s and factional fighting among local warlords in the early 1990s had left the countryside heavily cratered, landmined, and degraded.

As of late 2002, the picture in Afghanistan remains largely unchanged. The Taliban repression, U.S. bombing, and recent re-emergence of local warlords have perpetuated the violence but have done nothing to improve living conditions. Average life expectancy is 46 years. Health care is minimal. Food is scarce. And the continuing conflict has decimated what little infrastructure was left.

After 23 years of war, half of Afghanistan's urban housing stock is damaged, and about 1,700 of the country's 3,000 kilometers of roads need rebuilding. According to the United Nations, just one in four Afghans has access to safe water, one in ten has access to adequate sanitation, and only one in 20 has electricity. (Worldwide, more than four of every five people have clean water, more than three of five have adequate sanitation, and half of the people have reliable energy)

Despite the U.S. military's rout of the Taliban, violence and poverty continue to grip the country. Warlords continue to fight for control of the Afghan countryside, creating major security problems and threatening the legitimacy of U.S.-backed president Hamid Karzai. The United Nations has expressed fear that without serious assistance, Afghanistan risks falling back into political chaos. Moreover, aid organizations stress that the country faces a continuing humanitarian crisis as a result of prolonged drought having depleted the food supply.

Before war broke out in 1978, Afghanistan produced enough food to feed itself--in fact, the country was known in the region for its excellent fruit. By 1990, war and neglect had destroyed 70 percent of the country's farmland. Despite the loss, the remaining 30 percent accounted for more than half of Afghanistan's gross domestic product, and provided livelihoods for about 70...