Taliban Country: Afghanistan 3 1/2 Years After the U.S. Invasion

Earlier this week, First Lady Laura Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan. Mrs. Bush was surrounded by heavy security and spent a total of six hours on the ground. She met with women training to be teachers at Kabul University, U.S troops at Bagram Air Base and President Hamid Karzai.

Mrs. Bush, a former teacher and librarian, thanked the troops for ousting the Taliban. She said "thanks to you, millions of little girls are going to school in this country, little girls who were denied an education just three years ago." Mrs. Bush also announced plans for the U.S to build an American University of Afghanistan and an International School of Afghanistan for children to receive a western style education. Though President Bush often cites the country as a symbol of success and on the road to democracy, he has has never been to Afghanistan.

We are joined in studio by the co-Director of the Afghan Women"s Mission, Sonali Kolhatkar. Sonali recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan. We are also joined in our New York Studio by filmmaker, Carmela Baranowska. In June of 2004, Carmela was embedded with eight hundred US Marines in one of the most remote and dangerous parts of Afghanistan. She made a film called Taliban Country which is a disturbing expose of American actions in that country. Here are a few excerpts from the film

* Sonali Kolhatkar, host of the popular Pacifica Radio Show, Uprising on KPFK. She is also co director of the Afghan Women's Mission, a group that works in solidarity with Afghans to help improve health and educational facilities for Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
* Carmela Baranowska, an award-winning film maker of "Taliban Country." She has just completed a 12-city tour of the US screening her film and addressing audiences on East, Midwest, South and West coasts.
* "Taliban Country", excepts from Carmela Baranowska's new film.

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/01/1432231