A Rough Guide to Afghanistan? by Little Bits of History https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j This Padlet is made for someone who has a good working knowledge of the conflict in Afghanistan and it can be used as a prop or guide through a discussion about the current situation in Afghanistan. en-us 2021-08-18 22:52:55 UTC 2023-01-26 07:06:14 UTC hello@padlet.com Context: Where is Afghanistan? LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684894220 Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country. At the crossroads of Central and South Asia.]]> 2021-08-18 22:59:14 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684894220 Who are Afghanistan's neighbors? LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684895386 Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north, and China to the northeast.]]> 2021-08-18 23:00:39 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684895386 More about the nation of Afghanistan. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684903370 Afghanistan is the 40th largest country in the world with an area of 652,864 square km.
Its population is 31,390,200.
Its GDP per person (Gross domestic product - measure of monetary value of the goods and and services produced in over a year is $493 (Australia's is $54,891).
Its biggest economic strength is the significant amount of lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore, and other minerals that are largely undeveloped industries at this stage.]]> 2021-08-18 23:10:59 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684903370 A rich history - intrinsically and culturally.p LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684908355 Afghanistan's history stretches back millennia but its modern boundaries were settled during the 20th Century. ]]> 2021-08-18 23:15:42 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684908355 Cold War Neighbors LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684913701 During most of the 20th Century Afghanistan had different neighbors. ]]> 2021-08-18 23:21:19 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684913701 My first memory of the Taliban. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684914566 You have to rememeber that Afghanistan was not on anyones radar. ]]> 2021-08-18 23:22:16 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684914566 Context: 1972 LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684916252 Women have played a huge role in the history of Afghanistan. In 1964, women helped draft the Constitution and there were at least three women legislators in Parliament by the 1970's. 
But the freedom implied in this photo was far from the norm. These photos are often used to suggest a level of freedom in Afghanistan for women that was never the case.
That being said in recent years Women fulfilled roles as teachers, government workers, medical doctors, lawyers, judges, journalists, writers and poets up until the early 1990s. And again during the early 2000s. It is telling that all these instances were when Afghanistan was effectively under occupation by other nations.
Does this photo raise any red flags for you? Is it a bit too neat? Do some research on these types of photos. They pop up all the time. How representative are they?
Do you think this is a staged photo? Why?
How might you verify the implied meaning?]]> 2021-08-18 23:23:59 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684916252 Context: Where to start? The Saur Revolution - 1978 LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684920151 This was a revolution led by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan - a political party with a Communist ideology. It overthrew the rule of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan on 27–28 April 1978. Daoud Khan and most of his family were killed at the presidential palace. ]]> 2021-08-18 23:28:02 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684920151 Anti-Communist Insurgency LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684924120 This new government was unpopular even though its communist neighbor to the north supported it. It was not long before it was overthrown by alliances of lots of different groups of Afghani people. The Taliban did not exist at this stage.]]> 2021-08-18 23:32:10 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684924120 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684928499 The Soviet Union invaded its southern neighbor after the communist government they had supported there was overthrown to (depending on your perspective) support the overthrown rulers or expand its own 'empire'. ]]> 2021-08-18 23:36:21 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684928499 The Soviets had the advantage. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684931233 Aircraft like Helicopters were used with varying degrees of success during the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghanistan War. Combat helicopters played a crucial role during the initial Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in late 1979 and early 1980, ferrying troops into combat and providing close air support of ground forces.]]> 2021-08-18 23:38:51 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684931233 Context: The Cold War LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684933398 The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies which began following World War II. They rarely fought directly but did so through proxy wars. ]]> 2021-08-18 23:40:54 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684933398 US support for Anti-Soviets in Afghanistan LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684935512 Charles Nesbitt Wilson was a United States politician. Wilson is best known for leading Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone a covert operation which supplied military equipment and training to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War.]]> 2021-08-18 23:43:01 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684935512 Mujahideen - Anti-Soviet resistance LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684938439 The Mujahedeen were members of a number of groups operating in Afghanistan during the Afghan War against the Soviet Union (1979–92) that opposed the invading Soviet forces and eventually toppled the Afghan communist government. Here is one of their leaders Massoud with Mujahedeen soldiers. US support helped unify their strategy but providing modern radio communication equipment for example. This was still pre-smart phone and email. Volunteers from other Muslim nations also joined the Mujahedeen to defend fellow Muslims. It would be stereotyping to label all the Mujahideen as radicals or extremists. Some were. Most were not such as the man in the middle here, Ahmad Shah Massoud who would go on to be in opposition to the Taliban.]]> 2021-08-18 23:45:39 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684938439 Stinger Missiles LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684939860 Stinger Missiles supplied by the USA were shoulder launched rockets that could shoot down planes but especially lower and slower helicopters. This swung the advantage back to the Afghans. ]]> 2021-08-18 23:47:05 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684939860 The Soviets were defeated (or gave up) in 1989 but Afghanistan did not win. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684941363 Much of the world cheered. For the Afghans and for the defeat of the Soviets.
Do the motives of the Afghan supporters matter?

Left behind was a completely shattered nation. The Afghani deaths at the hands of the Soviets have been described by Afghan history expert Professor Paul Miller as near genocidal. The death rates were certainly worse than any suffered by European countries during World War One. It was unparalleled. The Soviets destroyed that country. The country and its institutions barely functioned and it’s society was rocked to its core. That damage was not undone and it left legacies.]]> 2021-08-18 23:48:36 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684941363 Training LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684942538 US forces also trained Afghans in modern warfare and supplied funding. Osama Bin Laden, a volunteer from Saudi Arabia, received such training. He and his cohort of international volunteers, which would come to be known as Al Queda, were minor figures at this stage. His expertise and service at this time was in construction efforts to help the Mujahedeen soldiers by building roads, bunkers and so on.  ]]> 2021-08-18 23:49:44 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684942538 Afghan Civil War - The Taliban LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684948900 A civil war broke out following the departure of the Soviet Union. There was tremendous competition for rulership of Afghanistan. Some were advocates for democracy others not so much. There was lots of corruption, crime and the country ceased to function.  This period is where the Taliban come in. They are not a tribe, a race or a religion.  They were Afghanis radicalised in madrassas and seminaries funded by a range of nations where more strict Islamic sects like Saudi Arabia's Wahabism dominated. The divided society was soon overcome. In a nutshell the Taliban with a very clear though radical guiding ideology won. It gave them a significant edge. Their unity and commitment won the day. They came to power in 1996.]]> 2021-08-18 23:55:34 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684948900 Context: The Afghan Girl LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684950856 Another memory I have is of massive camps filled with refugees at this time. Some turned out to be havens for radicalization. This photo of the Afghan Girl is a 1984 photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula taken by photojournalist Steve McCurry in Nasie Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan. It appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic Magazine and she became the public, if then nameless, face of the masses of refugees.
Whatever happened to Sharbat? Can you find out?]]> 2021-08-18 23:57:25 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684950856 Taliban Rule LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684954510 The Taliban were initially welcomed. Crime and corruption ceased and the country started to function. For a while. Electricity was reconnected at points. Water came out of some taps again. There was a peace - of sorts. In short the Taliban were preferred over anarchy.
But the radical Taliban ideology soon surfaced. Music was banned. All men had to wear beards. The enduring image is how women were treated. 
However, it is worth noting a comment by Ahmend Massoud on the issue of the treatment of Afghani women during one of his final interviews. He said, “the cultural environment of the country suffocates women. But the Taliban exacerbate this with oppression." (Asia Times).]]> 2021-08-19 00:00:10 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684954510 Al Queda LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684956439 Also (further) radicalised  was Osama Bin Laden. Originally from Saudi Arabia, his organisation, Al Queda, developed into a bona fide terrorist entity. The Taliban let him live in Afghanistan from where he trained his terror organization which launched attacks in Indonesia, Egypt and against the USA. It is a long story but let’s leave it at he launched a massive terror attack on the USA before you were born and its legacy lives.]]> 2021-08-19 00:01:54 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684956439 Context: September 11 (consider age appropriateness - prebriefing) LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684958135 ON September 11 2001 I woke to this. Note: I’ve selected the least gratuitous examples. I want to give you an impression. Enough to empathise. But no more. This is not entertainment.]]> 2021-08-19 00:02:40 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684958135 The Bullhorn Speech LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684958806 Hearing this on the news not long after the attacks I thought “This is going to be a big war.”.
This is the President of the USA at the time (origin).
How would you have felt hearing this as an American at the time?
Who was Bush’s Audience?
What was his purpose?]]> 2021-08-19 00:03:22 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684958806 Us Forces in Afghanistan LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684961127 The US entered Afghanistan to 'get' Bin Laden and to remove the government that sheltered him. But they then decided to stay. Why? Nation building? Self Defense? Imperialism? Poor planning ahead - how do you leave and to what criteria?
This graph shows the number of US troops deployed to Afghanistan by Presidents Bush and Obama.
It might sound counter-intuative but one criticism of the intervention is that it was not pervasive enough by refraining from building up institutions such as the rule of law. This would have consequesnces in 2021.
Another view is that the USA was too focussed on revenge for September 11. As a result missing early opportunities to enter into talks with rank-and-file Taliban who may have been willing then to end the conflict whilst it’s leadership skulked about Pakistan.
Here is a reasonably good podcasts that is an overview much like this Padlet: What Went Wrong in Afghanistan? | Dan Snow's History Hit on Acast

]]> 2021-08-19 00:05:27 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684961127 Drone War LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684961479 A very much hidden aspect was a massive bombing campaign using drones that raged for years. Barack Obama was largely responsible for this phase. Such drones are controlled by ‘pilots’ as far away as the USA. Us President Obama said ‘ … these drones save lives …’ by killing those who would attack the USA.
A very significant increase (5000-10000 is the range cited most often) in civilian casualties went with this. 
Afghan society was asking ‘Why is life getting worse?’.

]]> 2021-08-19 00:05:46 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684961479 The Taliban were removed from power but they never went away. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684963922 Taliban forces retreated to their homes in the mountains or to safe refuge in neighbouring countries. As did Alqueda where its leader was eventually found and killed by US forces. Malala Yousafzai was 15 year old Pakistani advocate for girls and women. She was threatened and eventually shot by Taliban for speaking up against the opression of women. I was teaching about Malala during a Yr 12 Feminism Unit at the time. One lesson we were reading her most recent comments and the next day we arrived hearing she had been shot. It was horrific.]]> 2021-08-19 00:07:54 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684963922 Return of the Taliban LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684967615 The Taliban essentially waited the Americans out.  Obama had given a time limit to US commitment (many cite this as the biggest error the US made) and the following  US President, Trump, began citing the US weariness about the War and negotiated and end to US involvement including talks with the Taliban . Whilst not seriously attacking US forces during the final months before the US withdrawal the Taliban waged an assassination campaign against Afghanis that might challenge or hold the Taliban to account. For example journalists and opposition politicians. Particularly, powerful women. 
The absence of serious attempts at nation building or effort to correct decades of damage done dating as far back as the 1980s also assisted the return of the Taliban and hindered the Afghan governments resistance and willingness to resist.
The world lost interest in Afghanistan.
Over the 20 years since 2001:
c.150,000 -250,000 Afghanis were killed (at least  50,000 of which were civilians)
There c.52,000 US casualties (c.2500 killed)
There were 302 Australian casualties (41 killed).

Did the USA leave because they achieved their objectives?
Did they lose the will to continue? 
Even if they had the will should they stay? 
Do we like imperialism or not?
Is it up to Afghans to sort it out?
Should neighbors do more?
Should neighbors do less?

Should countries be invaded? When? How? Why?
]]> 2021-08-19 00:10:56 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684967615 First Day of Taliban rule. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684972692 The Taliban are saying that they have change. But Afghani’s are wary.]]> 2021-08-19 00:15:04 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684972692 Second Day… LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684973331 2021-08-19 00:15:28 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684973331 Propaganda War LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684974426 Even American popular culture got behind the Afghanis. ]]> 2021-08-19 00:16:19 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684974426 The collapse of the Towers LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684978496 I cannot convey how shocked that the world was. ]]> 2021-08-19 00:18:50 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1684978496 Long Memories = Mass Exodus and Desperation LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686717342 Fearing the return of the Taliban hundreds of people, especially those who worked with US, Australian and other forces that have recently departed, desperately run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug.16. 2021. ]]> 2021-08-19 20:58:08 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686717342 The return of Taliban: Burqa prices surge tenfold in Afghanistan. Resistance to Taliban. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686720232 From the article above, "A 25-year-old university graduate, who works for a local NGO in Afghanistan's Herat, said she hasn't left home in weeks because of the fighting. From speaking with other residents, she said there were few if any women out on the streets, with even female doctors staying home until the situation is clearer ... I can't face Taliban fighters. I don't have a good feeling about them. No one can change the Taliban's stance against women and girls, they still want women to stay at home ... I don't think I would be ready to wear a burqa ...I can't accept it. I will fight for my rights, whatever happens," she said.]]> 2021-08-19 21:01:21 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686720232 Don't just rely on your teacher. Ask yourself: What are the Taliban Saying? LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686727226 2021-08-19 21:08:16 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686727226 Don't just rely on your teacher. Ask yourself: What are the Americans saying about why they left. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686731014 President Joe Biden makes remarks about the situation in Afghanistan. He claims that the past week reinforced that ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision. 
What do you think of his reasoning?
Try to empathize from various perspectives. For example:
  • Americans?
  • Australian Veterans?
  • Families of the 41 Australians killed in the conflict?
  • Afghanis who assisted US, Australian and other forces?
  • Regular Afghani’s going about their lives?

 



]]> 2021-08-19 21:12:08 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686731014 The Breadwinner LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686751781 The 2017 animated drama is helmed by Nora Twomey and executively produced by Mimi Polk Gitlin and Angelina Jolie. The film is based on the best-selling novel, of the same name, by Deborah Ellis and it depicts the struggles of a young girl struggling to support her family during the Taliban ruling. 


]]> 2021-08-19 21:34:29 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686751781 Where is the HOPE? Don’t look to me for an answer. What would ultra-safe people in Australia really know? Listen to perspectives of those on the ground. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686756093 Afghan women protest for their rights in Kabul as Taliban return. A group of Afghan women, holding signs and protesting for their rights on the streets of Kabul.

Women and girls in Afghanistan are desperate not to lose their freedoms now that the Taliban are back in power.

Afghan activist Pashtana Durrani runs an organization that provides access to learning materials for 7,000 girls, mostly in rural areas across Afghanistan.]]> 2021-08-19 21:39:05 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686756093 Chaos and panic as Twin Towers fall on September 11, 2001 LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686780108 It sounds trite but it was like a Hollywood disaster movie. 
  • What do you think this would feel like experiencing?
  • How do you think this would feel like watching it on tv as it took place?
]]> 2021-08-19 22:08:59 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686780108 What Hapened to Osama Bin Laden? LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686824578 Zero Dark Thirty is a passingly accurate take on the actions of US forces in the region at this time. There are inaccuracies but the overall tone is representative of the era. To be fair the film does not claim to be history. It is based on the autobiogrpahy of one of the parcipants of Seal Team 6 - a US special Forces group responsible for the mission to capture and or kill Osama bin Laden. ]]> 2021-08-19 23:07:01 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686824578 May 2, 2011 the White House situation room. Ten years after September 11. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686831058 Bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces in a heavily fortified home in Abbottabad, a medium-sized city near Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. ]]> 2021-08-19 23:11:27 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686831058 What if? It is worth pausing for a moment to ask some 'What ifs?'. History is about people and a lot goes into making us, our decisions and our actions. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686841936

]]> 2021-08-19 23:23:16 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1686841936 What do you understand more now than before we started? LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1688501218 2021-08-20 20:41:11 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1688501218 What will you take away? LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1688502105 2021-08-20 20:42:09 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1688502105 Do you see an opportunity for meaningful action? LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1688507952 Is this realistic or does it just make a nice gif?]]> 2021-08-20 20:47:41 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1688507952 History Repeats. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1688721145 There have been many comparisons between what has happened this past few weeks to the last days of the Vietnam War. However I’ll put to you that the more relevant ‘repetition’ took place in Afghanistan itself. 
What happened after the Soviets left is largely similar to what happened after the US and co. left.
  • Explain the missed opportunity?
  • What lessons went unheeded?
]]> 2021-08-21 03:19:51 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1688721145 Challenge your Understanding: Sharbat Gula - The Afghan Woman LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1689150846 Almost 20 years after taking the photo of the Afghan Girl the same photographer sought her out again. This time giving her a name and a voice.
One striking comment Sharbat made when asked if she ever felt safe will challenge many of us. She said:

…life under the Taliban was better. At least there was peace and order.

  • Reconsider the story so far. 
  • What opinions had you formed about life under the Taliban - especially as a woman?
  • How do you think Sharbat could come to this conclusion?
  • What lesson is this teaching us about how we look at the world here and now from a classroom in Australia?
You can read the entire article here (you might even try to find how how her story has progressed since): https://www.fcusd.org/cms/lib/CA01001934/Centricity/Domain/1341/Found%2017%20years%20after.pdf
]]> 2021-08-21 21:44:50 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1689150846 One week later. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1702195900 Another development has been not just the return of the Taliban but of other groups rushing in to fill the power vacuum left by the departure of the USA and other forces such as Australia. Most notably being Isis-K, the Afghani version of ISIS. For perspective Isis were regarded as too radical to associate with by Alqueda! 
Isis-k launched an appalling terror bombing on the waiting crowds at Kabul airport. 
This ‘competition’ has been a feature of Afghan life since the departure of the Soviets in 1989. Nothing has been done to seriously address it since. It is hard to see a way forward until this is addressed.
The attached article explains what is known about this other group rearing its head in Afghanistan.]]> 2021-08-28 22:20:57 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1702195900 Oh for goodness sake! LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1708204725 2021-08-31 23:17:22 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1708204725 Post World War Two LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1715952888 For a relatively brief time Afghanistan faced the world with confidence and looked forward to a bright future. The attached article looks at this near-forgotten era.]]> 2021-09-03 19:27:26 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1715952888 Military Resistance. LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1717788165 Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahman Shah Massoud (assassinated around the time of September 11), like his father has emerged as the last leader of Anti-Taliban resistance in Afghanistan. However, unlike his father Ahmad faces exceptionally well equipped Taliban forces which 'inherited' the military material of the US equipped Afghan Government forces. 

Could a lack of opposition against the Taliban be a good thing in the short term and/or Long term?
Without a viable opposition to the Taliban what checks on its behaviour can be brought to bear?
Is this just more bad news?]]> 2021-09-05 21:38:38 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1717788165 Connectedness LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1737472809 It would be trite and disingenuous to assign responsibility for the events unfolding in Afghanistan to the USA or the Soviet Union or the Afghans (or any individual or group for that matter) alone. History is connected. Rarely can blame be assigned to any one notion. If you are looking for blame or judgment you have come to the wrong subject for answers anyway. Here we do understanding. 

How does this cartoon allude to the notion of connectedness in history? ]]> 2021-09-13 22:04:41 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1737472809 Taliban Prime - Minister Muhammad Hassan Akhund LittleBitsofHistory https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1737490051 Akhund is probably best known as one of the architects of the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan (mentioned on the first slide of this padlet) the giant cliff statues destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
The wonder of the world had stood since the 6th Century. ]]> 2021-09-13 22:18:22 UTC https://padlet.com/LittleBitsofHistory/r59ut7sv2wq2oj0j/wish/1737490051