Western interventions and a terrifying war on terror

In September of 2001, the same year the Buddhas were destroyed, the Twin Tower attacks took place in New York and the world’s focus was firmly reorientated towards Afghanistan and the Middle East. By October that year, the United States began its occupation of Afghanistan, with allies such as Britain and Australia following closely behind, in a campaign codenamed ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’. Just like the justification for every conflict that had come before, this war too was shrouded in public rhetoric of liberation, this time embedded in democratic principles and ideological salvation. By 2004, the first democratically elected government was installed, which, though heralded as a good news story and a win for the occupying forces, in reality, did little to assuage the harsh realities of life in a conflict zone for many Afghan people.