The year 2005 witnessed watershed political progress and a renewed sense of hope for Afghanistan.

“A nation that once knew only the terror of the Taliban is now seeing a rebirth of freedom,” President Bush said May 21, 2005. “And we will help them succeed.”

In February, Afghanistan's first class of cadets reported for duty at the new National Military Academy of Afghanistan, situated on the grounds of a former flight technology school in Kabul, and modeled after the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. The academy is a four-year institution that will commission second lieutenants for the Afghan National Army.

“Our objective is to make a very strong and reliable army for Afghanistan,” said 1st Lt. Abdul Haq, a platoon leader and military instructor at the academy.

Afghan Sgt. 1st. Class Asadullah Nawabi said, “I would like to thank the U.S. military in helping us get things done.” He added that he looks forward to teaching the cadets.

The most significant event that shaped Afghanistan in 2005 was the successful parliamentary election that took place Sept. 18. Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and coalition forces provided security to the more than 12.5 million registered Afghan voters who filed votes at about 6,300 polling stations in every province. Only limited violence was reported.

“I am not afraid to go and vote. I want to vote. It is how we can fight this terrorism. I want to be able to choose who represents me in our government,” Saifullah Haqmal, an Afghan student from Khost province, said. “I think it is important for everyone to participate in the vote for national and local parliament. This election will bring a bright future for us.”

Voters elected 249 members to the lower house of parliament, as well as provincial councils. These council members, in turn, elected 68 members of the upper chamber. President Hamid Karzai appointed the remaining 34 upper-house members, more than half of them women.

“The success of Afghan elections clearly shows how earnestly Afghan people want a truly free and democratic country. The extremist elements that once again attempted to disrupt the electoral process have failed, and the Afghan people, as they courageously made their ways to the polls, demonstrated their determination to proceed down a democratic path,” Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said. “The United States is firmly committed to help Afghans build a free, secure and prosperous future and applauds the Afghan people as they advance further on their democratic journey.”

The results of the election led to the Dec. 19 seating of Afghanistan's National Assembly, the final step in the process begun four years ago to create the democratic institutions of a sovereign country. It also represents the fulfillment of the 2001 Bonn Agreement intended to establish a new Afghan government.

With Vice President Richard B. Cheney and his wife, Lynne, in front-row seats, Afghan President Hamid Karzai opened the first session of his country's new parliament in Kabul.

“This gathering represents the assumption of full sovereignty by the great people of Afghanistan,” Karzai said during his address before the assembly. “Establishment of the parliament completed the main pillar of the government of Afghanistan in light of the constitution.”

“Afghanistan and the United States share common views on combating terrorism,” Karzai added.

Afghanistan has not had an elected legislature since the 1970s, when the country endured multiple coups and the Soviet Union invaded, followed by a civil war in the early 1990s and the Taliban takeover.

The Afghan people appear to expect a lot from their new parliament.

An ABC News poll released Dec. 7, the fourth anniversary of the fall of Kandahar from Taliban control, notes that 77 percent of Afghans polled expressed confidence that the new parliament will work for the benefit of the people. Forty-one percent of those polled cited the Taliban as the biggest danger Afghanistan faces.

U.S. and coalition forces continue to work with Afghan forces to counter

continuing terrorist threats and ensure a stable environment where the new Afghan government can thrive, a Pentagon spokesman said.

The U.S. military has been key to the transformation of the new Afghanistan, but it is important to note the strides made by the now 30,000-member Afghan National Army and NATO efforts to help stabilize and rebuild the nation. NATO currently runs nine provincial reconstruction teams and controls about 12,000 troops in Afghanistan.

“Every trend line in Afghanistan is going up, and going up at a great rate,” then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, said. “As much as you'd like to stand here and take credit for that, it really belongs to the Afghan people, who are industrious and seized the opportunity for a better future for themselves and their families.”

U.S. troops contributed greatly to many humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan throughout the year. They helped the Afghan people endure severe weather conditions, they helped open schools, they distributed donated shoes, clothing and school supplies, and they provided much needed medical care.

“Actions like these are vitally important to America's mission, because they show the people of Afghanistan our true selves,” first lady Laura Bush said while visiting Afghanistan in 2005.

During one of the country's harshest winters in recent history, coalition troops aided the Afghan people in a variety of ways. Following snowstorms that left many roads impassable and scores of civilians stranded without adequate shelter and food supplies, U.S. troops used Chinook helicopters to deliver food and other supplies to stranded villagers and airlifted many others to safety.

As the year progressed, melting snow coupled with heavy rainfall caught many Afghans unprepared for increased water levels and flooding. But U.S. forces once again came to the aid of the Afghan people.

Brig. Gen. Jack Sterling, deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force 76, said it could have been much worse. “If it were not for the efforts of the helicopter crews,” he said, “it's quite possible more villagers could have suffered.”

U.S. forces also provided a great deal of medical care to the civilian population throughout the year. Soldiers from Troop Medical Clinic and Security Force in Kabul spent “countless hours” caring for villagers.

“We try to do everything we can for Afghans we encounter who need medical treatment,” Petty Officer 1st Class Rodrigo Martin, a Navy corpsman with the Marine unit, said. “Sometimes we can't help, but when we can, it's a really great feeling.”

The U.S. military and the United Kingdom's 2nd Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles, have worked to supply schools and hospitals in Kabul with essential supplies and material support.

The troops keep an inventory of prayer rugs, Korans, children's clothes, sugar, tea, beans, rice, stoves, hygiene kits and school supplies, and they often pass out book bags full of pens, pencils and notepads to schoolchildren.

U.S. troops have also been instrumental in rebuilding the infrastructure of Afghanistan. Provincial reconstruction teams have built 12 medical clinics and 16 schools, and provided 1,500 desks and more than 100 computers for students and renovated a hospital's exterior, repaired water service, and donated more than $100,000 worth of medical equipment.

Engineers from Task Force Pacemaker completed the construction of a 66-kilometer major logistical road linking the towns of Shinkay and Qalat in eastern Afghanistan.

The project represents more than eight months of work, said Army Lt. Col. Paul Paolozzi, Task Force Pacemaker commander. “The Army Engineers, combined with an international development agency, made this road a reality. Afghanistan's success is tied to the cooperation demonstrated in the road-building effort and the ability to connect people, ” he said.

Afghanistan's Baghran Valley, once home to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, received generous U.S. reconstruction funds. Projects there include reconstruction of the area's most prominent mosque, the building of a new high school, road repair and equipping the local police force with motorcycles.

In addition, another major project was completed in 2005, a bridge spanning the Tarnak River, linking the Baghran Valley with nearby major centers of commerce that will improve the overall economy of the area. The bridge cost nearly $300,000 and took almost two years to complete.

“The people of this valley have asked for our help, and we're delivering,” PRT Commander Army Lt. Col. Jim Hogberg said.