The other side of 9/11: Afghans reckon with America's long shadow

It's been nearly 25 years since the start of the U.S- led invasion of Afghanistan. NPR returns to Kabul to see how Afghans, now back under Taliban rule, are coping with the legacy of that 20 year war. Transcript SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: Shortly after the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush vowed quick revenge. What followed was a U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and the ousting of the armed Islamic group that held power there, the Taliban. It was forced out over its support of Osama bin Laden and his militant group, al-Qaida. The war lasted 20 years and ended with the promise that the U.S. would end its forever wars. NPR's D. Parvaz is recently back from Afghanistan, whose more than 40 million people are still processing those events. She has this report.D PARVAZ, BYLINE: The Kabul of 2026 looks dramatically different than before the Taliban takeover of 2021. Gone are most of the blast walls and barbed wire that choke the streets of the Afghan capital, and with them, the sense of unease that another Taliban attack will strike a police station, a government office or a hotel.ABDUL JABBAR AKBARI: (Non-English language spoken).PARVAZ: Abdul Jabbar Akbari is a political analyst...