Afghanistan: The Horror and the Pity

When I read that some brutish fanatic had blown up a large crowd of people in Canada's hood in Afghanistan.

Who were having a jolly good brutish time watching two dogs tear each other to pieces.

Dog fighting is a popular form of Afghan entertainment that was banned under the Taliban, but which has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years.

Some residents said they believed that as well as targeting Commander Jan, the Islamist fighters were punishing people for daring to flout their old diktat.

And then I read this story about how the road to peace might mean bringing old Taliban commanders back into the government...like Mullah Mamuk.

"The authorities simply got the wrong guy and drove him into the Taliban's hands. Now he is currently fighting against the British in Helmand but in my opinion local leaders like Mamuk can be won back over again.

To join those already there...

There are many people who served with the Taliban regime who are now well-placed inside the Karzai regime or else are pillars of Afghan society."

And then I saw the World Press Photo of the Year....of a young American soldier sheltering in a bunker in Afghanistan...
















I couldn't help captioning it:

Mullah mia. What the FUCK am I doing here?

Or what ARE we fighting for?

Because sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words....

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More stunning pictures here.