This report discusses Afghanistan's political transition, which was completed with the convening of a parliament in December 2005. Since then, insurgent threats to Afghanistan's government have escalated to the point that some experts are questioning the future of U.S. stabilization efforts.

This report discusses the Afghanistan's political transition, which was completed with the convening of a parliament in December 2005, but since then insurgent threats to Afghanistan's government have escalated to the point that some experts are questioning the future of U.S. stabilization efforts.

The central government's limited writ and perceived corruption are helping sustain a Taliban insurgency and painting President Hamid Karzai as a weak leader. However, ethnic disputes have been confined to political debate and competition, enabling Karzai to focus on reversing the security deterioration and on his re-election bid in the fall of 2009. See CRS Report RL30588, Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, by Kenneth Katzman.