After 30 years since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the country is still in turmoil.

The Western powers, particularly the United States, supported Afghan Mujahedin against the Soviet invaders when they saw their sphere of influence was being seriously threatened in the heat of the Cold War.
However, after the withdrawal of the Red Army in 1989, Afghan people were left in the wilderness by the West. The Soviet pullout was followed by a bloody struggle for power, first among the various warlords, and then Taliban versus many other competitors.
The Western powers once again returned to Afghanistan when the September 11 terrorist incidents took place that was blamed on Al-Qaeda, which was protected by Taliban who were then ruling Afghanistan.
After toppling the Taliban regime in October 2001, Afghanistan once again was abandoned. Since the deployment of NATO forces in 2001 in the country, the cultivation of opium -- the main source of terrorism funding -- has increased manifolds, and the Taliban have made a stunning comeback -- they are now knocking at the gates of Kabul. Moreover, the Taliban insurgency has even spread into neighboring Pakistan to cause another worry for regional stability.
The incompetence of the United States and NATO troops to establish law and order and improve security situation in the country has been angering many Afghans. Some Afghan refugees in Iran even talk of the Taliban days in a nostalgic way, saying that if the Taliban had imposed many restrictions, including barring girls from schools, they had at least provided better security for the people. Even some Afghans ironically call President Hamid Karzai mayor of Kabul, implying that he does not have authority beyond the capital.
Anyhow, a ray of hope is emerging now as the Obama administration is focusing on Afghanistan by taking some practical steps such as pushing for the Afghan conference in The Hague, proposing dialogue with the moderate Taliban who are ready to lay down their arms, and recognizing the fact that securing Afghanistan is almost impossible or really difficult without seeking the help of influential regional players such as Iran, China and India.
The fact that the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Afghan conference in Holland that “we must ... support efforts by the government of Afghanistan to separate the extremists of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban from those who have joined their ranks not out of conviction, but out of desperation” was a confession that many Afghan nationals have joined Al-Qaeda or the Taliban just because they felt that they had no other choice or sought the salvation of Afghanistan in enforcing the Taliban thoughts.
In the light of new emerging situation it is hoped that the countries involved in the Afghanistan issue will focus more on the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country in order to win the hearts and minds of the people. By starting rebuilding the country the Al-Qaeda-Taliban efforts of recruiting Afghan youths can be blocked by and large -- even this can turn the war-weary public against the insurgents.