The longest war in American history wears on, with no end in sight. Afghanistan, The Graveyard of Empires. Great Britain and The Soviet Union abandoned their occupations. Before them: Alexander the Great, the Mauryans, the Kabul Shahi, the Arabs, the Mongols, the Timurids; names that shaped the history books were all driven in defeat from this mountainous plateau. The history of Afghanistan traces back through the centuries to the Crusades, to the prophets Muhammad and Jesus, to the Great Enlightened Indian civilizations, to the misty dawn of Buddhism. To this day there are remote valleys that have never known a road. Places with no name and no purpose. And there are older residents, much, much older residents.