This is the sixth in a series on popular myths about Afghanistan.

• Myth #1, read Popular Myths About Afghan Women
• Myth #2, read The Afghan Women's Movement on International Forces
• Myth #3, read The Myth That Afghans Don't Want Us There
• Myth #4, read Guest Myth-Buster Melissa Roddy's The Persistent Afghan Pipeline Conspiracy Theory
• Myth #5 is: Afghanistan is Backwards and Irreparable

Myth #6: Afghanistan has never been conquered by outside forces.

The Truth: of all the myths that permeate western narratives of Afghanistan, this one is perhaps the most enduring. This is partly because it is enthusiastically perpetuated by journalists, authors and other commentators, and partly because it is a potent part of the Taliban’s own internal and external propaganda. As Christian Caryl pointed out in Foreign Policy last year,

It's the mother of all clichés. Almost no one can resist it. It's wielded by everyone from thoughtful ex-generals to vitriolic bloggers. It crops up everywhere from Russia's

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