More than two decades of conflict have severely hindered Afghanistan's progress toward meeting development goals. A Communist coup in 1978 and Soviet invasion one year later ushered in years of fighting that continued after the Soviets pulled out in 1989. Guerrilla factions carried on the violent, internal conflict throughout the early 1990s. In 1994, a group of Islamic fundamentalists, the Taliban, emerged as a political force and within two years controlled most of the country. Their strict interpretation of the Koran led to significant restrictions on basic freedoms and resulted in violent clashes with anti-Taliban groups.

The US-led Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan (CFC-A, formerly called Coalition Forces) ousted the Taliban in late 2001, and began to wage an ongoing military campaign to weed out remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. CFC-A initially was assisted by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a UN-authorised multinational force responsible for maintaining security in and around Kabul, and supporting the government's security sector reform process. During 2006, CFC-A and NATO troops gradually merged operations, and by October NATO assumed responsibility for security throughout the country with resources of over 50,000 troops including Afghan national forces. A separate US force of over 10,000 troops under the banner Operation Enduring Freedom continues to seach for al-Qaeda leaders.

While the Afghan government has attempted to disarm and demobilise ex-combatants and illegal militias for several years, an anti-government insurgency continues to threaten security in the country. The first half of 2008 has seen some of the worst violence since the fall of the Taliban government, with an increasing number of both military and civilian casualties. NATO's limited capacity to provide fighting troops has exposed tensions between member governments.

One of the troubling consequences of so much fighting is the large presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Afghanistan is considered one of the most heavily mined countries in the world with 4 million of the population living in areas at risk. 2007 witnessed a continued increase in the number of persons killed by mines or UXO. The government has added de-mining as a 9th MDG priority.