Ted Rall’s “uncomfortable truths” about Afghanistan

[Jim Lane]

8. Didn't a lot of Afghans flee immediately after 9/11, before we invaded?

I thought that the stream of refugees began immediately after the 9/11 attacks. TV or no, there was a fairly widespread understanding in Afghanistan that al-Qaeda had perpetrated the attacks, that al-Qaeda had extensive training facilities in Afghanistan, and that the U.S. military would therefore be showing up in Afghanistan very soon.

This makes me dubious about Rall's contention that no one in Afghanistan draws the connection between the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. presence. I suppose it's possible that the previous understanding could have been lost over 13 years, but it seems unlikely.