Fleeing Before The Storm

Kandahar had become the most dangerous place on earth. Within hours of hearing on the radio about the suicide hijackers who crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Barasna knew she had to flee. Her town had housed both Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden; surely it would soon be a target of whatever retribution the Americans were planning. "It's suicide to stay here," a neighbor shouted to her as she hurried inside to pack. "Look, even the Taliban are running." A Land Cruiser roared past, kicking up dust, heading for Pakistan. That...

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