Afghanistan Before it was Bombed into the Stone Age

Here is an interesting piece depicting an Afghanistan not many Americans know about.



http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/27/once_upon_a_time_in_afghanistan?page=full

Even if there is a touch of propaganda to these images the ideas portrayed speak volumes. Depicted, is an Afghanistan that appears hopeful, secular, and forward looking. These are images of women studying at universities, people wearing relaxed western style clothing, infrastructure expanding. What happened?



In 1979 Zbigniew Brzezinski, an adviser to Jimmy Carter, proclaimed "Let's give the Soviets their own Vietnam." With this we began secretly arming the Mujaheddin. We gave weapons and training to people like the young Osama Bin Laden. The plan worked and the Soviets invaded. Now after nearly three decades of war Afghanistan is a third world hell hole. I wonder who we can help next?



I guess people should be wary of American foreign aid lest it bite them in the ass. That's one important lesson we can take from this, but I think there is a more important lesson for Americans here. That lesson is the fragility of what we have built.

Thirty years ago, Afghanistan was a seemingly prosperous nation. That's all it took for all traces of modernity to disappear.

Americans like to think that we are exceptional and that the momentum of progress can't be halted.

Many of them may even think that we have something in our national character that makes us better than your average Afghan, but ultimately our way of life is fragile. The possibility exists that we are only 30 years removed from Afghanistan.

Remember this and stay humble.