Financial Times FT.com

Interactive graphic: Afghanistan - Behind the front line

By Matthew Green, Helen Warrell, Serena Tarling, Steve Bernard and Marine Formentini

Published: October 13 2009 18:23 | Last updated: October 14 2009 13:03

The international debate on the purpose of Nato’s mission in Afghanistan has intensified over recent months, as the Taliban stronghold has increased and the military death toll risen sharply.

According to a leaked report by Stanley McChrystal, the US general in charge of Nato and US forces in Afghanistan, reversing the Taliban’s gains will depend on the Afghan government’s ability to improve governance and service provision to win popular support. In this graphic, the FT looks at the work of the provincial reconstruction teams (the groups of soldiers and civilians working on development missions) run by the nine leading nations in the International Security Assistance Force, to assess their activities and establish indicators of success.

Within the nation-building, security and counter-narcotics sections on the graphic below, click on each ISAF country to see details of its activities and where its PRTs are located.

Join the debate on Nato’s mission in Afghanistan on Gideon Rachman’s blog

Behind the frontline: Nato's civil reconstruction in Afghanistan

Additional reporting by Chris Bryant, Jan Cienski, Jack Farchy, Daniel Igra, Giulia Segreti, Kevin Sieff and Peter Smith

Sources: United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Congressional Report Service, Brookings

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