Introduction
A young Northern Alliance fighter surveys the devastation of war from his perch atop the rubble of a mud house in a village north of Kabul, the capital. Disarming and rebuilding the war-ravaged, heavily mined country could require up to $25 billion in economic and emergency assistance over the next decade. (AP Photo/Marco Di Lauro)
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A U.S. bombing campaign has helped drive out the Taliban — the strict Islamist regime that ruled Afghanistan for the last five years. Now, an interim government will seek to unite the country and heal ethnic and religious animosities. But after 23 years of war, Afghanistan faces an immense challenge of political, social and economic reconstruction. The economy is in ruins, the land and the infrastructure devastated. Hunger is widespread after a three-year drought. The education and health-care systems are in shambles. The United States and other donor countries have pledged to help rebuild Afghanistan. Some groups say that as much as $25 billion will be needed over the next 10 years, but the Bush administration has not yet proposed an aid package. And the administration may give greater attention, some experts warn, to the next steps in its war against terrorism.
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