UN involevement in afghanistan

Afghanistan has long suffered from great power rivalry and foreign military intervention, including the bitter Anglo-Afghan wars of the nineteenth century. Beginning in 1979, the country again descended into a prolonged period of devastating conflict. A Soviet military intervention (1979-1988) took a heavy toll, as US-backed Islamic militants fought a bitter conflict against the Soviet occupiers. There followed a period of civil war and warlordism 1988-mid1990s, then rule by a government organized by the Islamic Taliban, and finally in 2001 a military intervention by the United States followed by further violence, instability and civil war.
In late 2001, the Security Council authorized the United States to overthrow the Taliban government, as an offensive against the terrorist al-Qaeda organization, said to be based in the country. The Council also authorized the US and its NATO allies to set up the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to provide military support for a newly-established pro-Western government (the United States also continued to run a separate anti-terrorist military operation). In March 2002 the Council established the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) to manage all UN humanitarian, relief, recovery and reconstruction activities. Despite (or perhaps because of) these military-centered initiatives, Afghanistan has remained a "failed state." The authority of President Hamid Karzai, victor in the presidential election of October 2004, barely extends beyond Kabul's suburbs, warlords have gained back control of most of the country, and opium is now the principal agricultural crop.
The Taliban has enjoyed an upsurge of military success in 2007-2008 and several NATO countries have expressed concern about the political viability of the operation. Public support for deployments to Afghanistan in countries such as Germany and Canada has evaporated. The media have reported on US-UK air bombardment of innocent civilians as well as bold Taliban attacks against US and NATO forces, suggesting that the intervention is failing to produce the promised security, democracy and prosperity
The UN's role in the country includes an election operation that is working with Afghan authorities to register voters and organize elections for 2009 and 2010. Other efforts include promoting of good governance and the rule of law, training of police, and the like. But in a land torn by violence, warlordism, drug production and intense suspicion of foreigners, these programs seem unreal and very unlikely to succeed. Until Afghanistan achieves a lasting and stable peace designed and supported by Afghanis, there can be no prospect of progress, electoral or otherwise.