Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Afghanistan Quote of the Day: 12 February 2014

“No impression of Afghanistan would be complete which overlooked the importance of these tribesmen — strong, stalwart, wiry men who tramp up and down the country bent on banditry or herding and plowing. … They, not Kabul, are Afghanistan. They, not the merchants, politicians and statesmen of the capital, represent the temper and force of the nation. The shadow of their threat hangs always over the town, for it is they who are the king-makers. Kabul and its vicissitudes can only be appreciated in relation to these fierce tribesmen.”

Ben James, “The Secret Kingdom: An Afghan Journey,” 1934




Top: On Jalalabad Road, Kabul, 2005
Middle: Near Ministry of Women's Affairs, Kabul, 2005
Bottom: Bagrami, Kabul, 2006
(Photos: Jim Chiavelli)

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