THE TALIBAN
The ruling Islamic militia controls more than two- thirds of Afghanistan and continues to mount military operations against opposition groups.
TROOPS: Estimates vary between 40,000 and 50,000 lightly armed infantry with up to 40 percent of the troops being non-Afghans, mostly Pakistanis.
WEAPONS: AK assault rifles; machine guns; rocket-propelled grenades.
VEHICLES: About 600 armored vehicles including the Soviet T-62, T-54 and T-55 main battle tanks as well as various infantry fighting vehicles.
ARTILLERY: Various Soviet-designed field guns, rockets and mortars.
AIR DEFENSES: Include 100 mm anti-air guns, mobile surface-to-air missiles and possibly U.S.-made Stinger surface-to-air missiles.
AIR POWER: About 10 Su-22 fighter-bombers, five MiG-21 fighters, 10 transport helicopters and 40 cargo airplanes. But many are considered inoperable because of lack of spare parts.

THE LAND
Area: 251,773 square miles.
The Hindu Kush mountain range forms a barrier between the northern provinces and the rest of the country. This mountain range divides Afghanistan into three geographic regions: the Central Highlands, the Northern Plains and the Southwestern Plateau.

THE CLIMATE
Afghanistan has extreme winters and summers with many regional variations. It has one of the widest temperature ranges in the world, from 40 degrees below zero to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the country’s rainfall occurs from December to April.

OTHER THREATS
Afghanistan is one of the world’s most-heavily mined countries. The U.N. estimates that between 5 million and 10 million landmines litter the countryside.

SOURCES: Periscope Military Database; Center for Defense Information; U.S. Army War College Papers.

Graphic: LAYNE SMITH and ROBERT WEST