Sam on Afghanistan

This DVD explains the sources and causes of the current conflict in Afghanistan.

It goes through the historical reasons, starting with the foundation of Modern Afghanistan under King Abdul Rehman, who was followed by Habibullah, Amanullah, Bacha Saqao, Nadir Shah, Zahir Shah, Daud Khan, Taraki, Hafizullah Amin, Babrak Karmal, Najibullah, Mojadidi, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Gulbuddin, the Taliban and the current leadership.

In just 60 minutes, this DVD goes through this entire sweep of history and brings us up to today.

The narrator, Ismail Sloan, is part of this story too. Arrested as a spy by the Taraki government, he escaped from jail in Lashkar Gah, was arrested again while trying to sneak across the border into Pakistan, and was held in Demazang and Puli Charqi prisons. He learned to speak Pashto and Farsi while locked up in prison. Almost all of his fellow prisoners were executed. He, almost alone, has lived to tell about it.

Background music is in the Pashto language: Da Watan or "This Is Our Country" sung by Istad Awal Mir