Story: Violence Increases in Afghanistan Five Years Later, 09/11/06
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec06/afghanistan_9-11.html

Reading Comprehension Questions:

1. Who was killed over the weekend in Afghanistan? Who killed this person?

2. How does the violence in Afghanistan now compare to the level of violence immediately following the fall of the Taliban in 2001?

3. What is NATO and what role is it playing in Afghanistan?

4. Why is the majority of the fighting with the Taliban occurring in the south?

5. How is the Pakistan-Afghanistan border situation impacting U.S. troops?

6. How much opium comes from Afghanistan?

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. Research the Taliban. What is their goal? What was life in Afghanistan like during their rule? Compare that to life in Afghanistan now. What has gotten better? What has gotten worse?

2. Why might Pakistan have a difficult time controlling its borders with Afghanistan? What physical and political challenges exist there?

3. What were the U.S. goals in going into Afghanistan? Were we successful?

Write a 300-500 word essay on any of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org]. Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.