All we see in the news is the US attacking, and we tend to miss the fact that behind the scenes, there are many powerful states jockeying for influence, both on America's war strategy and on the nature of the future Afghan government.

The Pakis and some Muslim countries don't want the Northern Alliance to have anything to do with the new Afghan government. Russia, India, and others want the Northern Alliance to be the most powerful element in the new government. Obviously, someone's going to be very disappointed in the end. While the US cares less about the precise composition than the fact that they don't sponsor terrorism, our actions in the war will of course open (or not open) wide avenues of opportunity for the NA, and possibly others in the South.