The Players & The Reason

1; C) In today's Afghanistan, there are many various groups, each vying for influence and control in Afghanistan's political system. As Afghanistan is a predominately Muslim country, the mullahs, Muslim religious leaders, have great influence in the population. Most Afghans are strong practitioners of Islam on a daily basis. As with religious figures in the United States, the political views of mullahs often resonate with their congregations. That is why both belligerents (United States forces, the Afghan government, the Taliban) in the current war in Afghanistan are attempting to reach out to mullahs and gain their support. Right in the middle of the fight of the war between the Afghan government and the Taliban are local warlords who have control of large swaths of territory in areas with little contact with the government or whose representatives are ineffective. These warlords are a government onto themselves; they impose their own laws over local Afghans and act as basic administrators. Similar to mullahs, warlords have influence with the local population, and as a result are sought out by US forces in the fight against the Taliban. However, much doubt has been placed on their reliability, whether whey are just simply mercenaries; guns-for-hire who will join whoever can pay the best.  

2; D) The United States is currently engaged in a war of weapons and minds in Afghanistan as we struggle to establish a functional democracy in the country. One of the many conflicts they are fighting is too convince the Afghan population, and the world community, that the current Afghan government is legitimate. After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, an government body was established (having been pre-prepared before the US invasion) in Afghanistan. An Islamic Republic was formed and three years later Hamid Karzai was elected Afghanistan's first democratic president. Though this seemed to be a promising start for reconstructing the country, the new government began to immediately experience problems. The administration was, and continues, to be plagued by corruption. Government ministers take bribes and turn a blind eye to illegal activities. One of President Karzai's own brothers is said to profit substantially from the opium trade from his government position in Kandahar province. Last year, the legitimacy of the government was bruised badly during the country's presidential elections. Karzai won re-election amidst allegations by Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), according to a Time Magazine article, that his government had been involved in widespread ballot stuffing, and other election rigging. Karzai's claims to power seemed shaky in the eyes of the world community, with key Afghan allies, including the United States, condemned the elections. A painful strain now rests between the US and Karzai because of this, making it harder for the US to advance Afghanistan as a functioning democracy.

Sources Included:
http://afghana.com/SocietyAndCulture/History.htm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1929210,00.html