ZAHEERUDDIN ABDULLAH/AP
Buddhas of Bamiyan

Spring 2001
CIA officers visit Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud in Afghanistan, trading cash and supplies for intelligence on al-Qaeda. Massoud convinces key Alliance warlords living in exile—including Abdul Rashid Dostum and Ismail Khan—to return to Afghanistan for a new campaign.

March 1, 2001
Despite international pleas, the Taliban begin destroying the two giant stone Buddhas of Bamiyan using dynamite, artillery and tanks.

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  From the Aug. 12, 2002 issue of TIME Magazine; posted Sunday, Aug. 4, 2002
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