The collapse of #Afghanistan to likely #Taliban control is heartbreaking, painful, infuriating and (mostly) predictable. After 20 years of #Western occupation, our legacy is sparse. This is what happens when #Washington and its allies spend billions of $ on warlords, corrupt officials, private militias and imperial hubris.

I’m in contact with #Afghans in #Afghanistan and the #Diaspora and the mood is grim. Many want to flee, anywhere, while others watch powerless to impact events on the ground.

I’ve long supported the withdrawal of #Western forces from #Afghanistan, it’s merely worsened the insurgency and inflicted carnage on #Afghan civilians, but not like this with complete disregard for #Afghans caught in the middle.

So many are to blame; Western politicians, arrogant military commanders and gung-ho journalists who pushed the conflict long past its use-by date. And yes, the #Afghan political elite aren’t blameless.

The answer is not indefinite occupation. Reparations to the many #Afghan civilians the West has harmed is a positive first step. And be prepared for the war-mongers who will want to reinvade #Afghanistan in the coming weeks and years.

We have a responsibility to support the #Afghan people in a range of ways but not through partnering with #Afghan warlords and committing war crimes. That’s our (principle) legacy.

I’ve been working for a few years on a project about the real legacy of the post 9/11 #Afghan war with artist Tia Kass and a number of #Afghan artists in #Afghanistan and around the world. It’s a journalistic and art project with many strands including video, an exhibition, text, audio, portraits et al. Coming soon.

These photos are from my trip to Afghanistan in 2015 and include #MazariSharif, #Kabul and the provinces making the film, Disaster Capitalism (https://disastercapitalismfilm.com).

#journalism #art #legacy #reparations