Afghanistan: War Beyond

(22 photos)
  • Children turn war remnants into playgrounds in Bamiyan village, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led the war-torn country to its first democratically elected legislature, but the new government to date still faces tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Shooting game stall in the street of Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • The mountain tracks of Band-e Amir, the five-lake resort famous for its dark blue water, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Once a proposed national park, the resort was abandoned during the wars, and now there are mines along the valley tracks. ..The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • The Big Buddhas of Bamiyan, destroyed by Taliban tanks, are now two niches some two hundred feet tall, surrounded by smaller craters that mark an aerial bombardment, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • The gate keeper of a building compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Afghan tourists at Band-e Amir, the five-lake resort famous for its dark blue water, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Once a proposed national park, the resort was abandoned during the wars, and now there are mines along the valley tracks. ..The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • The canon of a burnt-out tank, mostly from the war against the Soviet Union, lies along the valley road of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Afghan children turn war remnants like canons and burnt trucks into playgrounds in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Afghan boys play in the fields of Bamiyan city, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Children of Pahgmon, an outskirt neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Afghan boys play in the fields of Bamiyan city, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Afghan teens wave hello in the street of Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Afghan children turn war remnants like canons and burnt trucks into playgrounds in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • A refugee family from Pakistan, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • A boutique at the main bazaar of Bamiyan city, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Afghan children in Bamiyan town, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Guests of The Roof of Bamiyan, one of the two inns in Bamiyan town, have breakfast facing the Buddhas of Bamiyan, now two niches some two hundred feet tall, surrounded by smaller craters that mark an aerial bombardment, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • An Afghan teacher begins a mural for a school in Bamiyan town, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • The canon of a burnt-out tank, mostly from the war against the Soviet Union, lies along the valley road of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Afghan mothers and their children in the street of Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Children in the street of Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Kite flying in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.

Twenty some years of war have left Afghanistan a legacy of disaster. Although the fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led the country to its first democratically elected legislature, the new government faces tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.

Life in Afghanistan remains difficult. The U.S. and allied presence there still draws resistance;...
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