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Afghanistan's rocky road to recovery
From CNN Correspondent Sean Callebs
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- One year after the war on terrorism unleashed a U.S.-led bombing wave on Afghanistan, the strife-torn nation is still struggling to rebuild a shattered economy. The harsh, Islamic Taliban government may be gone, but thousands of U.S. troops remain and efforts by the new government of Hamid Karzai to establish a democracy remain shaky. While rebuilding is slowly proceeding in the capital, Kabul, it really hasn't started in outlying areas. Last January, world nations pledged $5 billion over six years to help Afghanistan rebuild, but so far only about $1 billion has come in and very little of it has been spent on reconstruction. It's not enough, but it is a start. It's a situation which has prompted Karzai to issue a plea on behalf of the people of Afghanistan. "If we just give them a chance to breathe ... The nation has to have a chance not to be killed, not to be tortures, not to be harassed," the leader told CNN. Karzai is making security, and the reconstruction of roads, the cornerstones of his government. He believes building roads to Heart in the west, Mazir e Sharif in the north, Jalalabad to the east, and to the old Taliban stronghold Kandahar in the south will connect the country and build national unity. But after 23 years of war, the clean-up task is simply daunting. "We have to do it," says Karzai, "by dedication, by hard work, by commitment and by stopping corruption in this country. That is the key." The country is also initiating a massive effort to eliminate fraud, by changing currency beginning immediately. Right now the government believes there is some 50-trillion dollars in circulation. To make matters more complex, there are three different kinds of currency and very little of it actually minted by the government. The situation is also not helped by Karzai's tenuous grip on the nation. The president may control Kabul, but the outlying regions are still in large part under the thumb of various warlords. Meanwhile, the man who triggered the war -- Osama bin Laden -- remains elusive. Search for supportersNearly 7,500 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, fanning out across the country to hunt down bin Laden's al Qaeda faithful and Taliban supporters. "We're looking for caches. Propaganda from al Qaeda or Taliban. Anything to show they have been conducting terrorist activity in the area," Lieutenant Andrew Steadman of the U.S. 82nd Airborne division says. It's dangerous work. Each month, authorities say, an estimated 30 people are taken to Kabul hospitals with mine injuries. And violence in Afghanistan is still a part of life. About a month ago, would-be assassins tried to kill Karzai. Given the country's violent past, the road to a better future could very well be a rough road.
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