<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/15/afghan-soldier-iran-war-abandoned-by-australia-us-british-troops-taliban>
"War is Abbas’s* earliest memory.
As a child, the first iteration of Taliban rule forced his family to flee –
with nothing but the clothes on their backs and what food they could carry –
for the relative safety of far-distant hills.
War became his profession. Joining republican Afghanistan’s fledgling army,
Abbas fought alongside American, Australian and British troops, believing in
the foreigners’ ultimately false promise that they could bring peace and
prosperity to his homeland.
Conflict is his constant attendant now, over Afghanistan’s border in
neighbouring Iran, as the US, the country he fought with, rains bombs on the
land of his exile. Back home, the resurgent Taliban – unreformed, unrepentant
and firmly in charge – seek him still.
The war – for all its varied complexions, it feels the same war – goes on."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
