Take a trip through Afghanistan. Afghanistan before Brzezinski, Kissinger and the other ghouls

[ConsAreLiars]

decided to turn it into a killing field in order to further the interests of multinational capitalism.

Go to http://avalon.unomaha.edu/afghan/afghanistan/A1.HTM and keep hitting the "next" link until you really begin to admire and respect the people of that brutalized land, and maybe begin to also understand that killing or "liberating" them is really not something our government should continue doing.

Keep in mind as you go through these many galleries that foreigners traveling alone or as couples through this harsh and impoverished land, before the US decided to promote religious fanaticism, faced far less risk of being murdered than an American trying to register voters in Mississippi during the same period or a member of the BPP fighting for equality in the north.

[Muttocracy]

1. beautiful photos, thanks

I hadn't seen this when I posted about photos from the senators' recent trip there. Stunningly beautiful country. I heard a woman speak a couple of weeks ago about a project she's doing with some women there (hiring them for embroidery work) - and the background photos of the place where they live were amazing.

[ConsAreLiars]

2. Thanks, your post was the "straw" that led me to post my thread,

something I had been thinking about doing for a while, I had posted a link maybe a year ago, but wanted to again remind people about what was there before the US intervention. There was an interview on Democracy Now! about the embroidery project a few months ago. Rather sad really. Talked about teaching the how-to and providing links to charities that would turn that product into cash. When I was there one of the stunning things was the ornate dress and embroidery that one saw everywhere. Seems that even that traditional craft had been destroyed and now had to be re-taught and turned into a form of commodity production.

[Muttocracy]

14. thanks for the tip - I'll look for it on DNow's website nt

[JCMach1]

3. Problems are deeper than just the US... Afghantistan was part of Europe's great Imperial Sandbox

for hundreds of years.

While there was a brief respite in the mid 20th century (when these photos were taken), the history of Afghanistan is one of Colonial exploitation and war... :(

[Tinksrival]

4. Thank You

That is an addictive photo study. Stunning pictures!

[ConsAreLiars]

17. It is a very large and very instructive gallery. The further one goes (1000 pix?) the more one

begins to see that world. Not ours, not us, but something of great value and something that we have no right to destroy. There was much outrage at the destruction of the Buddhist statues at Bamiyan, mine included. But what about the destruction of this whole set of interconnected tribal societies and cultures?

(edit typo, as usual)

[Octafish]

18. "...something of great value and something that we have no right to destroy..."

Thank you for these most outstanding posts and thread, ConsAreLiars.

Busted statues made by people centuries ago are irreplaceable, as well. But we can make new ones.

You can rebuild a statue. You can't replace a human being.
You can rebuild a statue. You can't replace a human being.
You can rebuild a statue. You can't replace a human being.

I wish all people understood what that meant.

Once that soul leaves our world, we become infinitely poorer.

[annabanana]

5. k&r. . . . . . . . . n/t

[Squatch]

6. Ha, ha, ha

Caption: "Koochie Boys"

Seriously, though...beautiful pictures. In nearly every picture, it looks like the people are just milling about, enjoying life.

[Tinksrival]

8. The landscapes are stunning

But your right, the people bring it to life.




Puppy in wheelbarrel

[Squatch]

9. In 6 months, I'll be finding myself in Kabul

and really can't wait.

[ConsAreLiars]

15. Stay safe. But don't expect to see anything much like these photos.

In late Summer the only color you will see is brown. Even the largest rivers will have run dry. You will be entering the most barren, harsh and inhospitable environment you have ever experienced. Then it gets worse as winter rolls in. Much of original Kabul has been largely destroyed and replaced by generic cement boxes and makeshift hovels, along with some palaces for the elites.

You will be "welcomed" as conquering invaders have always been welcomed. Some will see your tribe's invasion as a chance to gain some personal advantage through tactical alliances. Others will simply see you as roaming gangs of bandits.

Again, stay safe, and do as little harm as possible.

(edit minor typo)

[Squatch]

7. Nice pictures, overall, except for

the photographer's attempt to rationalize Afghan dog fighting. His argument consistently boils down to Afghan dog fighting is OK because the Americans box or play rugby.

[Tinksrival]

10. The photographer states dogs are revered

and very rearly are injured. This is instinctive "wrestling" for dominance with the dog losing when rolling on his back and exposing his belly . My labs do this all the time in my living room(cause thats where the is the most room!) It's a real hoot watching them. They love each other and don't do any harm. It freaks people out sometimes cause they sound like they are about to tear each other apart but it is just how they play. Perhaps he made the comparison for understanding not rationalization.

[gateley]

11. I recently read a novel where the "hero"

was a US spy who lived in Afghanistan for several years to infiltrate Al Q.

The portrayal of the country was an eye-opener. People could dance and listen to music. People struggled, but weren't living in fear. Before reading that, I'd just taken it for granted that it had always been an oppressive existence.

Thank you for this link --

[ConsAreLiars]

16. At a rally attempting to block the US invasion plans, I heard an Afgan woman describing the beauty

of her country. I had only been there in late summer, and my impression was simply that it was a very harsh and barren land populated by strong and good people. It was when I found the gallery that photographer put up that I understood what she was saying.

[Peace Teacher]

12. Thanks.

[KansDem]

13. Remember this Newsweek cover?

#10 National Geographic (June 1985)
Photographer Steve McCurry immortalized the haunted eyes of a 12-year-old refugee in a camp on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Soviet helicopters destroyed her village and family, forcing her to make a two-week trek out of the perilous mountains of Afghanistan. The photo became a National Geographic icon after it was published on the cover in June 1985. Since then, this raw, untouched image has been used on rugs and tattoos, making it one of the most widely reproduced photos in the world.

American Society of Magazine Editors Top 40 Covers

That was 23 years ago and I still remember those eyes!

[ConsAreLiars]

19. Who could ever forget that, Even if had never heard a word about Afghanistan, that one image

told the whole core of that recent history. Not the who, why, when, or where. Just the what.

Luke Powell's photos show a lot of what the ghouls destroyed or crippled. This is one that shows what might have been her earlier childhood.

[ConsAreLiars]

20. just a kick for Saturday viewers (nt)

[jwirr]

21. Beautiful photography. What struck me the most is the medieval

appearance of this ageless land and the fact that we still have not won a war we have been fighting there for 5 years.

[ConsAreLiars]

22. Luke Powell describes this "other time" feeling you felt from his photos in one caption

( http://avalon.unomaha.edu/afghan/afghanistan/A4.HTM )
"For overland travelers arriving from the West, from Meshed and the bright deserts of Khurasan, Herat was the first Afghan city encountered, and this tree-lined street led into the city. As I lay on the bed my first day in Herat, stunned by the journey, an awareness of having entered a different world came slowly and gently. There were canaries and finches singing in the halls. Outside there were few motor or radio sounds. Instead, the klip-klop, klip-klop, chinga-ling-ling of carriages passing by mixed with the vendors voices, the cries and songs of children, and the bleating of sheep and goats herded through wide boulevards. In November, 1971 soldiers still occupied ancient citadels, and men rode by on horseback with flowing robes. These trees were removed during the Russian occupation."

The rail network that connected Europe and the middle east ended in Iran, and travel beyond that point was on unpaved roads until Herat was reached. At that time there was ONE paved road that ran across the country and was suitable for ordinary vehicles, although there were few private cars, and the motorized traffic was primarily large trucks and plus ONE bus per day that went from Herat to Kabul. Only after crossing the Khyber Pass into Pakistan and India were railroads and paved roads again commonplace.

[ConsAreLiars]

23. Saturday evening kick (nt)