Robert Fisk on the destruction of ancient cultures while the West talks about “democracy” and “liberation” at the barrel of a gun:
Over the door of the Kabul museum today is a Persian quotation: “A nation stays alive when its culture and history are kept alive.” But is it possible to believe that even these golden artefacts from Afghanistan will survive the 21st century in their new Kabul home? The Taliban, courtesy of the Saudis and the Pakistanis, brought deliberate destruction to the physical history of Afghanistan. And to Bagram came first the Soviet army – at their base, they taught the Afghans how to use electricity rather than nail pliers to extract information from prisoners – and to Bagram 21 years later came the Americans to waterboard their victims. From antiquity, Afghanistan obtained the culture of gold and collapsible crowns. From us, they obtained the culture of torture.