Afghanistan

Circled by high terrain and nations struggling with their own Islamic unrest, Afghanistan is among the hardest places on earth to fight. Other worries: millions of land mines, a harsh climate and a population famous for resisting invasion

WHO ARE THE TALIBAN?

The militia that dubbed itself the Taliban, Pashtu for Islamic students, emerged in 1994 from the rural southern hinterlands of Afghanistan, under the guidance of the reclusive onetime village preacher Mullah Mohammed Omar. Fed by recruits from conservative religious schools across the border in Pakistan attended by destitute refugees from the 1979-89 war against the Soviet invasion, the Taliban won military and political support from Pakistan. It rose to power by promising peace and order for a country ravaged by corruption and civil war and the prospect of re-establishing traditional majority-Pashtun dominance.

The Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law–which some Islamic scholars believe is a gross distortion–means that women cannot work or attend school and must be covered from head to toe when outside their homes. In March the ancient statues of the giant Buddhas in Bamiyan were blown up as icons of infidels.

Afghans have a life expectancy of 47. A quarter of the population is in danger of starvation.

IRAN Opposes the Taliban. Has closed its border with Afghanistan, fearing a refugee influx. Though supportive of the U.S., it probably won’t allow U.S. aircraft to fly over its airspace

TURKMENISTAN An occasional base for Islamic guerrillas, its borders are filled with rebels

UZBEKISTAN The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan wants a Taliban-style revolution here. That has led to bloody struggle that will make it a challenging base for any U.S. operations

TAJIKISTAN Struggling with an Islamic revolutionary group, the country will not allow Western nations to launch attacks from its territory

PAKISTAN Though the government has pledged cooperation with Washington, which could include deployment of international troops in Pakistan and the use of Pakistani airspace, anti-U.S. demonstrations have swept the country

CHINA It has a contentious relationship with its minorities, including Muslims in the north

INDIA The country has shared intelligence information about Islamic extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan with the U.S. New Delhi’s big worry: more Islamic turmoil in Pakistan

Sources: AP, GlobalSecurity.org USGS, United Nations Mine Action Program, CIA World Factbook, Encyclopaedia Britannica