Summary

Afghan General Mohammed Mohaqeq was relieved when he heard that the World Trade Center had been attacked because he knew it meant the Americans would finally be coming. He believed the tragedy had given the Americans a taste of what life was like in Afghanistan all of the time. Mohaqeq had been fighting the Taliban for seven years but was losing that battle. The narrator describes the acts of terror the Taliban had unleashed on the people of Afghanistan. Mohaqeq believed it would be years before the people learned to live normal lives again.

Mohaqeq was visited by Dostum and instructed to lay out fourteen lightbulbs so that the Americans would know it was safe to land. Mohaqeq took the Americans to meet with Dostum and Atta. The three men were those who held power with the Northern Alliance. The Alliance had...