How have the lives of ordinary Afghans changed nine years after the US drove the Taliban from power?

The US military has reached a major milestone - it has spent more time in Afghanistan than the Soviet Union which occupied that country in the 1980s until its withdrawal in 1989.

Since the US led invasion, Afghanistan has become a democracy which guarantees protection for minorities and equal rights for women.

Billions of dollars are being invested to rebuild its infrastructure and institutions.

Despite some progress, Afghanistan remains mired in corruption, poverty, instability and violence.

The Taliban insurgency continues, fuelled in part by a flourishing illegal drug trade.

On Tuesday, we will be discussing the issues with Caroline Wadhams, the director for South Asia Security Studies at the US based think-tank Center for American Progress. We will also have with us Ahmad Majidyar, a senior research associate at the conservative think-tank American Enterprise Institute. He also instructs US military officers on culture, religion and the domestic politics of Afghanistan.

This episode of Riz Khan aired from Tuesday, November 30, 2010.