Changes

Since 1978, Afghanistan has experienced an unprecedented demographic catastrophe, with millions killed, wounded, or displaced.  The Soviet invasion and occupation slaughtered 1,750,000 Afghans (from a range of 1.5-2 million killed).<ref>“Communism in Afghanistan,” in Stephane Courtois, ed., The Black Book of Communism,

Since 1978, Afghanistan has experienced an unprecedented demographic catastrophe, with millions killed, wounded, or displaced.  The Soviet invasion and occupation slaughtered 1,750,000 Afghans (from a range of 1.5-2 million killed).<ref>“Communism in Afghanistan,” in Stephane Courtois, ed., The Black Book of Communism,

(Harvard University Press, 1999), p725</ref><ref>http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat2.htm#Afghanistan</ref>  This is surely conservative when one considers all those killed by the Afghan Communists from 1978-92.  The subsequent civil wars (89-92 and 92-96) resulted in the deaths of another 400,000 Afghans (according to the Christian Science Monitor), with at least 50,000 killed in Kabul alone.<ref>http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat2.htm#Afghanistan</ref>  The Taliban seized power in 1996, and subsequently slaughtered hundreds of thousands.  According to UNICEF figures, in 5 years of Taliban rule, over 600,000 Afghans died just from Taliban restrictions on access to healthcare for women (120,000 per year).<ref>New York Times, February 1, 2002/ref>  The Taliban also executed tens of thousands throughout the country, and caused potentially scores of thousands of deaths through refusal to allow foreign aid and through miscellaneous "excess deaths".  In all, the Taliban was likely responsible for over 750,000 deaths (150,000 per year) on top of nearly half a million in the civil war.  The turmoil in Afghanistan from 1978-2001 killed nearly 3,000,000 Afghans, with 5,000,000 displaced.

(Harvard University Press, 1999), p725</ref><ref>http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat2.htm#Afghanistan</ref>  This is surely conservative when one considers all those killed by the Afghan Communists from 1978-92.  The subsequent civil wars (89-92 and 92-96) resulted in the deaths of another 400,000 Afghans (according to the Christian Science Monitor), with at least 50,000 killed in Kabul alone.<ref>http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat2.htm#Afghanistan</ref>  The Taliban seized power in 1996, and subsequently slaughtered hundreds of thousands.  According to UNICEF figures, in 5 years of Taliban rule, over 600,000 Afghans died just from Taliban restrictions on access to healthcare for women (120,000 per year).<ref>New York Times, February 1, 2002</ref>  The Taliban also executed tens of thousands throughout the country, and caused potentially scores of thousands of deaths through refusal to allow foreign aid and through miscellaneous "excess deaths".  In all, the Taliban was likely responsible for over 750,000 deaths (150,000 per year) on top of nearly half a million in the civil war.  The turmoil in Afghanistan from 1978-2001 killed nearly 3,000,000 Afghans, with 5,000,000 displaced.

==People==

==People==

Landlocked Afghanistan has no functioning railways, but the Amu Darya (Oxus) River, which forms part of Afghanistan's border with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, has barge traffic. During their occupation of the country, the Soviets completed a bridge across the Amu Darya. The United States, in partnership with Norway, has agreed to reconstruct this bridge, which will stretch more than 650 meters over the Amu Darya/Pyandzh River between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, near Pyanji Poyon (Tajikistan) and Shir Khan Bandar (Afghanistan). The bridge is set for completion in 2007.  

Landlocked Afghanistan has no functioning railways, but the Amu Darya (Oxus) River, which forms part of Afghanistan's border with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, has barge traffic. During their occupation of the country, the Soviets completed a bridge across the Amu Darya. The United States, in partnership with Norway, has agreed to reconstruct this bridge, which will stretch more than 650 meters over the Amu Darya/Pyandzh River between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, near Pyanji Poyon (Tajikistan) and Shir Khan Bandar (Afghanistan). The bridge is set for completion in 2007.  

Afghanistan's national airline, Ariana, operates domestic and international routes, including flights to New Delhi, Islamabad, Dubai, Moscow, Istanbul, Tehran, and Frankfurt. A private carrier, Kam Air, commenced domestic operations in November 2003. Many sections of Afghanistan's highway and regional road system are undergoing significant reconstruction. The U.S. (with assistance from Japan) completed building a highway linking Kabul to the southern regional capital, Kandahar. Construction is soon to begin on the next phase of highway reconstruction between Kandahar and the western city of Herat. The Asian Development Bank is also active in road development projects, mainly in the border areas with Pakistan.  

Afghanistan's national airline, Ariana, operates domestic and international routes, including flights to New Delhi, Islamabad, Dubai, Moscow, Istanbul, Tehran, and Frankfurt. A private carrier, Kam Air, commenced domestic operations in November 2003. Many sections of Afghanistan's highway and regional road system are undergoing significant reconstruction. The U.S. (with assistance from Japan) completed building a highway linking Kabul to the southern regional capital, Kandahar. Construction is soon to begin on the next phase of highway reconstruction between Kandahar and the western city of Herat. The Asian Development Bank is also active in road development projects, mainly in the border areas with Pakistan.

==Humanitarian Relief==  

==Humanitarian Relief==