In the mid-1970s and early 1980s, People’s World correspondent Marilyn Bechtel was editor of the bimonthly magazine, New World Review. With the Biden administration now withdrawing all troops from the country, we present this article from 2001 as a reminder that the US’s longest war had roots that went beyond the terrorist attacks of September 11, stretching back to cold war anti-communism.
SINCE the horrific events of September 11 2001, much has been said about the desperate situation of the Afghan people now crushed under the heel of the theocratic, dictatorial Taliban and about the role of the Northern Alliance and other Taliban opponents who now figure in Washington’s plans for the region.