Today marks the tenth anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan. On October 7, 2001, in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks on the twin towers in New York City, the United States launched a military campaign to capture Osama bin Laden and overthrow the Taliban regime. In December 2001, NATO joined the operations and created the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Ten years into the war, Osama bin Laden has been killed and health care and education in Afghanistan are reported to have significantly improved.
Yet the security situation in the country remains precarious. Political assassinations, corruption and warlord rivalries threaten political stability. "You know right now we have no idea who to be afraid of. We are afraid of everyone. Every street has its own ruler, own thugs," said Rangina Hamidi, the daughter of Kandahar mayor Ghulam Haider Hamidi, to the Associated Press. "I don't feel safe going out of my house. To be honest I have no idea what will happen."
The map of Afghanistan below shows the presence of ISAF troops by regional command, as well as current troop presence by country. NATO currently has 130,670 troops in Afghanistan from 49 contributing nations.
The chart below lists the number of troops per country. It does not include the U.S., which currently contributes 90,000 troops.
