Afghanistan

Afghanistan, according to a September 10, 2002 article by CNN, "after more than two decades of constant warfare," was "a nation in ruins." Towns and cities had become "reduced to rubble" and its social and political structure had become "torn apart by years of bitter conflict. ... It was this failed state, [said] Western leaders, that allowed Afghanistan to become a home to terrorists -- in turn paving the way for the events of September 11, 2001."

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Other SourceWatch Resources

• Al Qaeda
• rogue state
• Operation Enduring Freedom
• Opium economy in Afghanistan
• Osama bin Laden
• Taliban
• September 11, 2001

External Links

Headlines

• 10 September 2002: "Afghanistan: Rebuilding a 'failed' state," CNN: "After more than two decades of constant warfare Afghanistan is a nation in ruins."
• 29 October 2003: "UN: Afghanistan Could Become 'Failed State' If Opium Production Rises," katv.com.
• 9 February 2004: "Warlords' Crimes: Secrets of an Afghan Grave" by John Heffernan and Jennifer Leaning, International Herald Tribune.
• 5 April 2004: "The Other War" by Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker: "Why Bush's Afghanistan problem won't go away."