Cited Book: The Gas War: The Truth Behind the American Occupation of Afghanistan

Documents the lies behind purported motives for invading Afghanistan. It had nothing to do with bin Laden. It was about securing an oil pipeline route.

Under the Taliban, Afghans were subjected to brutal Islamist law. Women, banned from holding jobs, rarely ventured outside. Punishment was medieval, adulterers were stoned to death and thieves had their limbs amputated in the local soccer stadium. But if nothing else, these strictures eliminated the banditry and rape gangs that terrorized the nation before 1996.

Post-Taliban Afghanistan is essentially the Taliban Afghanistan minus law and order. Stonings continue and women remain under burqas, but now thugs and rapists roam the streets unchecked.