Afghan War
The war had been going on in Afghanistan for more than twenty years, largely unnoticed by the outside world, until the U.S.-led coalition said it was going to overthrow the…
How I Broke 9/11 News to Taliban Fighter
One of the Taliban prisoners-of-war I met at the Do-Ab detention center in the Panjshir Valley in mid-September 2001 was a bespectacled man with refined manners and fluent English. He…
Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir
The late Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir, who fought against the Soviet and Taliban armies, remains a cult figure in many parts of Afghanistan. In September 2001, when…
The First Days in Afghanistan (2001)
The final stages of Afghanistan’s civil war and the United States’ involvement in the conflict attracted hundreds of journalists from all over the world. Initially, "Afghanistanism" referred to the tendency…
Religious Affairs in Afghanistan
Islam is the prevailing religion in Afghanistan. The majority of Muslims adhere to the Sunni school, while Shi’ites are in the minority. There are also some Christians, Bahais, and Hindus;…
The Coup That Failed
Alexander Merkushev CHICAGO TRIBUNE The telephone in my apartment rang at about 3 a.m. Monday. The chief of the Russian-language news service told me that the Tass deputy director, Gennady…