October 7 marks the 20th anniversary of the United States invasion of Afghanistan. What began as “Operation Enduring Freedom”, an air strike against Al Qaeda and Taliban targets, has resulted in anything but.
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The U.S. completed the withdrawal of its armed forces from Afghanistan on August 30, bringing to end the nation’s longest war of foreign land. Despite costing $2.313 trillion and 243,000 lives, the war proved yet another abject failure on the part of global empire — like Britain and the Soviet Union before it.
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As the Taliban claimed victories across Afghanistan, the United States fled, leaving in its wake horrific scenes reminiscent of its departure from Vietnam. “The parallels between Vietnam and Afghanistan are uncanny,” says American photographer Michael Kamber, founder of the Bronx Documentary Center.
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Together with Cynthia Rivera, Kamber curated URGENCY! Afghanistan, a group exhibition bringing together the work of Victor J. Blue, Paula Bronstein, David Gilkey, Kiana Hayeri, Jim Huylebroek, Joao Silva, Marcus Yam, David Gilkey, killed in Afghanistan in 2016, and Tim Hetherington, killed in action in Libya in 2010.
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