Today in History: September 27, Taliban take power in Afghanistan

"On Sept. 27, 1996, the Taliban, the extremist Islamic movement in Afghanistan, drove the government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani out of Kabul, the capital, and executed former President Najibullah. Also on this date: In 1779, John Adams was named by Congress to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain. In 1939, Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II."

"In 1964, the government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy. In 1979, Congress gave its final approval to forming the U.S. Department of Education. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush announced in a televised address that he was eliminating all U.S. ground-launched battlefield nuclear weapons and called on the Soviet Union to match the gesture."

"In 2013, President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by telephone, the first conversation between American and Iranian leaders in more than 30 years. In 2018, Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that she was 100 percent certain that she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when they were teenagers, and Kavanaugh then told senators that he was 100 percent certain he had done no such thing. Kavanaugh was confirmed on Oct. 6 of that year."

Sept. 27 has hosted a wide range of historical events across centuries. John Adams received a 1779 congressional appointment to negotiate Revolutionary War peace terms. Warsaw surrendered in 1939 after resistance to invading Nazi and Soviet forces. The 1940 Tripartite Pact allied Germany, Italy and Japan. In 1996 the Taliban seized Kabul and executed former President Najibullah. U.S. milestones include the 1964 Warren Commission report, formation of the Department of Education in 1979, and President George H.W. Bush’s 1991 removal of certain battlefield nuclear weapons. Later events include historic U.S.-Iran leader contact and notable legal and confirmation controversies.

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