“On the day the Taliban took Kabul [Afghanistan], the State Department offered them more than an olive branch. ‘On the face of it, there’s nothing objectionable at this stage’ to the imposition of Islamic law in areas under Taliban control, State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said [on September 27, 1996]. He played down the execution of [Soviet-backed President Mohammed] Najibullah as a ‘regrettable development.’ ”
– Roy Gutman, How We Missed the Story, Page 77