Afghanistan rebuilding after the Taliban.

* OBJECTIVE

Students should understand:

* Afghanistan is a land of ancient conflicts that is struggling to become a modern democratic country.

* WORD TO KNOW

warlord: military commander exercising power in a region, often in defiance of a formal state.

* BACKGROUND

Many conquerors, including Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, have had a part in Afghan history. Ahmad Shah was the first Afghan leader to unite the country, in 1747. During the 19th century, Russia and Britain fought two wars of influence over Afghanistan. Britain won the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880), but never managed to keep control of the indomitable land. The Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919) established Afghanistan's independence. But the country has seen little peace since then.

* CRITICAL THINKING

NOTING DETAILS: What are some of the biggest problem areas in Afghanistan? (fixing the country's infrastructure; assuring equal rights and education for girls; fighting between warlords; building a political and judicial system; other answers likely)

COMPREHENSION: What circumstances led to the rise of the Taliban? (Overthrowing the Soviet invasion of 1979 triggered a civil war that allowed the Taliban to rise to power.)

* ACTIVITY

MAKING PARALLELS: The U.S. is intensely involved in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Have the class research and compare the two situations. How are their recent histories similar of different? What challenges do the current governments face?

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* Time, continuity, and change: The challenges facing a country adapting to the modern era.

* Global connections: How democracy as a global force is taking shape in a place whore it is not a natural fit.

RESOURCES

PRINT * Behnke, Alison, Afghanistan in Pictures (Lerner Publishing Group, 2003). Grades 5-9.

* Parks, Peggy J., Afghanistan (Blackbirch Press, 2003). Grades 6-12.

WEB SITES

* The Grave Children of Afghanistan news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/1769008.stm

* The Kids of Afghanistan teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnows/indepth/afghanistan_kids

It has been nearly five years since United States-led forces invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the brutal Taliban regime. A militant Islamic group, the Taliban had ruled this ancient and troubled land since the mid-1990s. There, they had given refuge to the terrorist and founder of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda was responsible for the September 11,2001, attacks on the U.S., which killed nearly 3,000 people. After the Taliban refused to surrender bin Laden, the U.S. attacked Afghanistan.

Since the invasion and the brief war that followed, the U.S. and its allies have spent tens of billions of dollars pursuing Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgents, including bin Laden. Several billion dollars have also gone toward reconstruction.

The results so far are discouraging. The U.S. has not found bin Laden and many former Taliban leaders. Meanwhile, reconstruction efforts have failed to accomplish many of the other goals of the war. The country's outdated infrastructure is all but in ruins.

"Nothing much has really changed," says 12-year-old Amanullah, who lives in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. "No one here talks about bin Laden anymore. We are more worried about getting electricity and jobs."

Basmina, an 11-yearold from Konduz, agrees. After the war, the foreigners came and told us that girls could all go to school," she says. "But, nearly five years later, there are not enough classrooms or qualified teachers. I still don't know how to read or write."

Back to School

Under the Taliban, only boys could attend schools, which had to be religious. Girls and women had almost no rights.

Now, both boys and girls can attend regular schools. Still, the educational system cannot accommodate all of the children who are eager to learn. While the situation has improved for women, they still suffer injustices and discrimination.

Most troublesome for the future of Afghanistan are the violence and instability. The once-defeated Taliban forces have regrouped as a major fighting force. Feuds among warlords (regional commanders) are ongoing, with bombings and shootings occurring almost daily. More than 1,400 people were killed last year--the highest death toll since the 2001 U.S. invasion.

First Steps

Today, Afghans seek to rebuild their country after a long, bloody history. Through the centuries, many conquerors left their marks on this Asian land. In recent history, the Soviet Union invaded the country, in 1979. A fierce resistance by a group of rebels called mujahedeen forced the Soviets out in February 1989.

Soon afterward, a civil war erupted between battling warlords and factions of mujahedeen. After the Taliban finally seized control, many Afghans began to find their rule as stifling as that of the Soviets.

Now, after decades of chaos, the country has taken its first steps toward democracy. In 2004, Hamid Karzai was elected President, And a new constitution was adopted. In a landmark (important) election in September 2005, Afghans chose their first parliament since 1969.

It took two months to collect and count all the ballots. (In many remote areas, donkeys were used to transport the ballot boxes.) When the counting was finally over, more than 60 percent of the winning candidates were former warlords, drug traffickers, of members of the Taliban. That was not exactly the fresh start many Afghans had hoped for after decades of conflict.

"What Is Democracy?"

Still, the elections represented a major turning point for many Afghans. "Democracy is ah important step for our country," says Yusef, 13. "In the past, our leaders have been in power because they had guns, not because they were chosen. Now, our elected leaders must represent us and work to help us."

That may take a while. With many competing personalities and agendas in Afghanistan's parliament, it will be months before it can work on the huge task of building an effective political and judicial system.

Eleven-year-old Manija, who lives in Kabul, understands that the process will take time. "The parliament has to construct roads, look after education, and give women the freedom to live and work as they please," she says. Manija is hopeful that the parliament will succeed. But, she adds, "For now, we will simply have to wait and see."

Meanwhile, Afghans in rural areas are less clear on why democracy is important. The Kuchis are nomadic herders who move from the lowlands to the mountains with the seasons to graze their livestock. They are more concerned about the weather and their sheep than who rules the nation.

"For me, what is the difference? What is democracy?" says Shukriya, who doesn't know how old she is but appears to be about 13. "In the time of the Taliban, we were poor Kuchi. If this democracy ever comes, we will still be poor Kuchi."

WORDS TO KNOW

* infrastructure: the underlying foundation of a country, including roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals.

* insurgents: members of irregular armed forces opposing a government.

* mujahedeen (moo-zha-heh-DEEN): Arabic for "struggler," also means "holy warrior"; volunteer rebels who opposed the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

by Cassandra Nelson in Kabul

AFGHANISTAN

Landlocked Afghanistan is one of the least developed countries in the world. That isn't surprising, if you think about what has happened in the last 25 years: invasion by the Soviet Union, civil war, takeover by a dictatorial Islamic regime, and then U.S. intervention to combat terrorism.

FACTS TO KNOW

AREA: 251,772 square miles; somewhat smaller than Texas.

POPULATION: 29,900,000.

GOVERNMENT: Transitional democracy, led by President Hamid Karzai.

ECONOMY: Afghanistan's economy has improved since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, largely due to $8 billion in foreign aid. But Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with shortages of housing, clean water, jobs, and healthcare.

PER CAPITA GDP *: $800.

RELIGION: Sunni Muslim, 80%; Shia Muslim, 19%; other, 1%.

LANGUAGES SPOKEN Pashtu, Afghan Persian, Turkic, others.

LITERACY RATE: Males, 51%; females, 21%.

LIFE EXPECTANCY: Males, 41 years; females, 42 years.

QUESTIONS

1. Afghanistan is located on which continent?--.

2. What is the capital of Afghanistan?--.

3. Which country forms most of Afghanistan's eastern border?--.

4. A person traveling from the capital of Pakistan to the capital of Afghanistan would probably use which mountain pass?--.

5. Which city is closest to 34[degrees]N, 69[degrees]E?--.

6. What type of terrain would you find in central Afghanistan?--.

7. In which part of Afghanistan would you expect to find desert or semidesert land?--.

8. What is the straight-line distance in miles between Konduz and Mazar-e-Sharif?--.

9. What are the red lines connecting Kabul and Herat?

10. Most people in Afghanistan observe which religion?--.

* Match each person or phrase in the left column with the correct description in the right column.

--6. infrastructure             A. member of irregular
armed forces opposing
government

--7. insurgent                  B. nomadic herders

--8. Kuchi                      C. country's basic
framework

--9. mujahedeen                 D. regional commander

--10. warlord                   E. rebels who opposed
Soviets

Answers:

1. Asia

2. Kabul

3. Pakistan

4. Khyber Pass

5. Kabul

6. Southern/Southwestern

8. 100 miles

9. major roads

10 Islam