When Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the US reacted quickly by sending in the CIA to supply resistance groups such as the Mujahideen with arms and military training. However, through a series of ill-conceived actions, both the US and the Soviet Union overlooked the deeper issues of the conflict and missed the warning signals pointing to the creation of the Taliban--a mistake which would come back to haunt them both. In this comprehensive program, THE HISTORY CHANNEL journeys from the deserts of Afghanistan to the Kremlin to the streets of New York to explore the development of the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and the devastation caused by thair dangerous alliance.

Mining the guarded vaults and hidden archives from around the world, DECLASSIFIED presents the untold story of how the Taliban took advantage of two of the world's greatest superpowers to wage jihad and protect the future of radical Islam.