Afghanistan: Captives of the Warlords (2001)

Afghanistan's warlords have habitually sought control over people, not just territory, in their quest for power. But it is under the extremist Taliban regime that ordinary Afghans face the most alarming loss of social and cultural freedom. Since 1980, journalist and filmmaker Arthur Kent has covered the war for NBC, BBC and CBC News and The Observer newspaper. This documentary explores how a buoyant and resilient people have been separated at gunpoint from custom, belief and justice, and how two decades of continuous warfare have left Afghanistan a breeding ground for terrorism. Filmed in Afghanistan in 2000 and early 2001, Captives of the Warlords was aired nationally by PBS on June 12, 2001, three months before the 9/11 terror attacks.