withdrawal in 1989 did not end Afghanistan's woes. Instead, war, anarchy and fragmentation followed the Soviet withdrawal, as fighting continued against the Soviet-installed Najibullah government. Mohammed Najibullah's overthrow in 1992 finally brought the anti-Soviet resistance groups -- called the mujahedin -- to power, but still the war did not end. Without the glue of a common enemy, the mujahedin turned their guns on each other in a brutal civil war. Peace remains an unlikely prospect in the near future because no Afghan group has been able to impose its will on the other factions. In addition to disagreement among the various factions over the division of power, constant competition among outside states for influence has also destabilized Afghanistan. Indeed, if anything, competition among regional powers has become more intense after Kabul's takeover in September 1996 by the Taliban guerrilla group. The conflict in Afghanistan has deep social and political roots. But the immediate factors responsible for the fighting are