AFGHANISTAN 2010 – A YEAR IN PICTURES

TALIBAN DYNAMITED THE LARGE BUDDHA STATUES. GOOD RIDDANCE TO THESE RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS.

HOWEVER, RELIGIONS CANNOT BE COMPLETELY WIPED OUT BY EXTERNAL SOURCES. THEY CAN BE WIPED OUT ONLY BY BAD PRIESTS, INTERNALLY.

Nowadays, we hear a lot about bad Roman Catholic priests. Many people are leaving the RC Church. The high priests have to admit their sins and omissions and not just pretend others are just smearing them.

Similarly, we have some bad Buddhist monks who don’t follow Buddha’s monks’ rules or Vinaya. They and their blind followers just claim that people are smearing them, instead of mending their wrongful ways.

Afghanistan 2010: A Year in Photos – An FP Slide Show | Foreign Policy

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/12/13/afghanistan_2010_a_year_in_photos

The Frame: Afghanistan-nine years of war

http://blogs.sacbee.com/photos/2010/10/afghanistan-nine-years-of-war.html

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The war in Afghanistan enters its 10th year Thursday with key players hedging their bets, uncertain whether the Obama administration is prepared to stay for the long haul, move quickly to exit an increasingly unpopular conflict, or something in between. Fearing that his Western allies may in the end abandon him, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has started to prepare his nation for a withdrawal of international forces by shoring up relations with neighboring Pakistan and reaching out to insurgents interested in reconciliation. Pakistan, America’s nominal ally, says it’s fighting insurgents. But it still tolerates al-Qaida and Afghan Taliban militants hiding out on its soil – out of reach of U.S.-led NATO ground forces. There have been other important junctures, but this ninth anniversary is proving decisive. It’s go-for-broke time in Afghanistan.

Here is a collection of images from the war made by Associated Press photographers. Be advised some pictures depict the graphic nature of war. (44 images)

The Frame: The Marines of India Battery

http://blogs.sacbee.com/photos/2010/10/the-marines-of-india-battery.html

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Three NATO troops were killed Friday in Afghanistan in a surge of attacks that raised the death toll to 17 in three days for international troops in the country. One service member died Friday in an insurgent attack in the east and another was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, an alliance statement said. It did not give nationalities or exact locations of the attacks. On Thursday, eight NATO troops were killed in a spate of attacks, including four separate roadside bombings. It has been the deadliest year for international forces in the nine-year Afghan conflict. Troop numbers have been ramped up to turn the screws on insurgents and casualties have mounted. The escalating toll — more than 2,020 NATO deaths since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion — has shaken the commitment of many alliance countries, with calls growing to start drawing down forces quickly. Getty Images photographer Scott Olson is with the Marines of India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment who are responsible for securing the area near the Kajaki Dam on the Helmand River. (31 images)