Afghanistan followed the same fate as dozens of formerly Soviet-occupied countries after the collapse of Moscow's Marxist government in 1991. Islamic factions, which had united to expel the Russian occupiers in 1992, began to fight among themselves when it became apparent that post-communist coalition governments could not overcome the deep-rooted ethnic and religious differences of the members. It was in this atmosphere of economic strife and civil war that a fundamentalist band of religious students emerged victorious. By 1996, this group, the Taliban, ruled 90% of the country with a controversial holy iron hand.

Today the contest continues between ethnic minorities, united again in northern Afghanistan, and the ethnically Pashtun Taliban. The rivalry that keeps Afghanistan in a perpetual state of economic and political instability is further complicated by foreign participants vying for access to oil reserves or hoping to use Afghanistan as a pawn in their own international rivalries. Other interested nations fear the spread of Islamic fundamentalism or simply object to perceived civil rights abuses. Also at issue: Afghanistan’s putative support of international terrorism (especially Osama bin Laden), alleged ethnic discrimination and the cultivation and trade of opium.