Everyone knew that the men Washington trained and armed during the 1980s to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan had helped produce future jihadis. It was a commonplace, even before September 11, that global jihadis were “blowback” from the Afghan war, the unintended consequences of a covert military operation. The Major was blowback’s human face. That this face spoke perfect English, polished by training with Americans, made it all the more chilling.
