History + Resources

Elliott’s reporting covers just two years of a ten-year war. Explore the related articles below—all taken from the pages of the Virginia Quarterly Review—to learn more about America’s longest war.

Background articlesOn-the-ground reporting and current analysis

The Road to September 11

Spring 2002 Article by Jack R. Fischel

Historians looking back at the tragic events of September 11 will discover the roots of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon originating in three episodes that occurred in 1979.Read More

Revisiting Afghanistan: A Conversation with Najibullah

Article by Alan Brody

Those of us serving with the United Nations in Afghanistan first heard the word “Taliban” around the middle of 1994. The group, headed by a shadowy, one-eyed “Mullah Umar,” appeared mysteriously on the scene in Kandahar, southeast Afghanistan’s major town.Read More

Assignment Afghanistan