**PHOTO ESSAY** - What Will Iraq Look Like in a Year?, The Afghanistan Model

Yahoo News Photos ^ | 4-1-03

[Oldeconomybuyer]

	Schoolgirls returning home stop in front of a poster announcing the 'World Press Photo Exhibition' in the city, background, in centertown Kabul, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Tuesday April 1, 2003. The poster depicts a preparation for the burial of a one-year-old boy who died of dehydration at Jalozai refugee camp in northern Afghanistan, the winner of the 2002 World Press Photo. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Apr 01 9:38 AM ET
	A book stall is loaded with newly arrived militant magazines and newspapers on Tuesday March 25, 2003 in Karachi, Pakistan. According to a book seller these magazines are in great demand since the Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iraq (news - web sites) conflicts. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash) - Apr 01 3:54 AM ET

	Afghan boys pick up flowers from a field in Bagram, about 60kms (37 miles) from Kabul, March 30, 2003 as signs spring arrived in Afghanistan (news - web sites). The emergence of flowers and greens after a rainy season is a welcome news to Afghans after years of drought in the country. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw - Mar 30 12:11 PM ET

U.S. Army medic Pfc. Gonzales R. Joseph, left, tries to console an Afghan girl while on a mission with the Civil Affairs team in Malak Ameer Jan Kalay, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Thursday, March 27, 2003. A Civil Affairs team met with village representatives to assess the village's aid needs and to gain intelligence about the region. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Mar 27 2:32 PM ET

	A U.S. Army soldier on a mission with an Army Civil Affairs team distributes candies to boys and girls in Malak Ameer Jan Kalay, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Thursday, March 27, 2003. Civil Affairs team members Staff Sgt. Peter Sweeney, background center, and Sgt. David Parshall, background right, held a meeting with village representatives to assess the village's aid needs and to gain intelligence about the region. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Mar 27 2:13 PM ET
	Afghan boys play with a Pepsi can in Malak Ameer Jan Kalay, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Thursday, March 27, 2003. Civil Affairs team members held a meeting with village representatives to assess the village's needs and to gain intelligence about the region. The Pepsi cans were empty ones left behind after the meeting . (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Mar 27 2:14 PM ET

	Afghan soldiers shout Allahu Akbar (God is Great) during their graduation ceremony in Kabul, March 27, 2003. The 7th Battalion of Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s National Army, which was trained by U.S. instructors, had their ceremony on Thursday. The United States and France have taken the lead in building a new Afghan army. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood - Mar 27 6:41 AM ET
	The chief of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan (news - web sites), Lieutenant-General Dan McNeil, shakes hands with a U.S. instructor, in Kabul March 27, 2003. The 7th Battalion of Afghanistan's National Army, which was trained by U.S. instructors, had their graduation ceremony on Thursday. The United States and France have taken the lead in building a new Afghan army. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood - Mar 27 6:38 AM ET

Afghan boys hold a toy given to them by U.S. Army soldiers in Old Salo Kalay, 4 kilometers west of Kandahar, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Wednesday, March 26, 2003. A team of army doctors, supported by American and Romanian Army soldiers, visited the village in an attempt to provide medical and humanitarian assistance. According to U.S. Army Sgt. Bill Hennesey from the Civil Affairs team, coalition forces are providing similar assistance to 73 villages around the Kandahar army base. The team distributed rations, radios, candy, toys and school supplies to the village. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Mar 26 4:47 PM ET

	A U.S. Army doctor inspects the ear of an Afghan boy in the village Old Salo Kalay, 4 kilometers west of Kandahar, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Wednesday, March 26, 2003. A team of army doctors, supported by American and Romanian Army soldiers, visited the village in an attempt to provide medical and humanitarian assistance. According to U.S. Army Sgt. Bill Hennesey from the Civil Affairs team, coalition forces are providing similar assistance to 73 villages around the Kandahar army base. The team distributed 300 'Humanitarian Daily Rations,' 30 radio sets, candies, toys and school supplies to the village. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Mar 26 1:12 PM ET
	Afghan boys react as they receive toys from U.S. Army personnel, unseen, in the village Old Salo Kalay, near Kandahar, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Wednesday, March 26, 2003. A team of army doctors, supported by American and Romanian Army soldiers, visited the village in an attempt to provide medical and humanitarian assistance. According to U.S. Army Sgt. Bill Hennesey from the Civil Affairs team, coalition forces are providing similar assistance to 73 villages around the Kandahar army base. The team distributed humanitarian rations, radios, candy, toys and school supplies to the village. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Mar 26 1:14 PM ET

	Sharmeen Obaid, a young Pakistani filmmaker, poses with Abdur Raheem, a 13-year old Afghan carpet weaver featured in Obaid's documentary 'Terror's Children.' The documentary about children who crossed from war-torn Afghanistan (news - web sites) into Pakistan is among the offerings on the new Discovery Times network when it starts up on Tuesday, March 25, 2003. (AP Photo/Discovery Times) - Mar 23 1:25 PM ET
	Afghan children look through the gates of Fordosi school on the first day of the school year in Kabul on March 23, 2003. Ferdosi High School is the biggest girls school in Kabul and there are three shifts of classes every day to accomodate all the students. In rural areas of Afghanistan (news - web sites), many girls are still forbidden to attend school. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw - Mar 23 12:55 PM ET
	An Afghan girl covers her face with scarf outside the Fordosi school on the first day of the school year in Kabul, March 23, 2003. The Ferdosi High School is the largest girls' school in Kabul and there are three shifts of classes every day to accomodate all the students. In rural areas of Afghanistan (news - web sites), many girls are still forbidden to attend school. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw - Mar 23 11:57 AM ET
	Afghan President Hamid Karzai, second right in front, attends a ceremony to mark the country's Education Day in Kabul, Afghanistan (news - web sites) Saturday, March 22, 2003. Karzai postponed a state visit to Pakistan on Saturday because of the U.S.-led war in Iraq (news - web sites), his spokesman said. Karzai was to make his second official trip on Saturday to Pakistan, where he was to attend National Day celebrations in Islamabad as a guest of honor. Pakistan canceled the event, also because of the Iraq war. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Wang Lei) - Mar 22 7:15 PM ET

	U.S. Army soldiers inspect a cache of weapons and ammunition recovered during 'Operation Valiant Strike' in Sami Ghar Mountain Range, southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Saturday March 22, 2003. The operation by coalition forces, the latest U.S. offensive in the war on terror in Afghanistan, continues in the villages and caves in southern Kandahar province. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, Pool) - Mar 22 12:07 PM ET
	Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s President Hamid Karzai (C) is flanked by United Nations (news - web sites) special enovy Lakdhar Brahimi (L) and Education Minister Yunus Qanuni at a ceremony on the start of Afghan educational year in Kabul on March 22, 2003. Some four million Afghan children including girls are expected to attend classes this year in the war-torn country. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw - Mar 22 7:11 AM ET

	Two U.S. Army soldiers, left foreground and center, interact with their Italian counterparts at the army base in Bagram, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Friday, March 21, 2003. About 4,000 troops of the Coalition Joint Task Force are stationed in the base. The flags on the board in the background represent the various nations that are in the coalition. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Mar 21 8:19 AM ET
	U.S. Army soldiers prepare to board a C-130 aircraft at the army base flightline in Bagram, Afghanistan (news - web sites), for redeployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan, Friday March 21, 2003. U.S. troops launched a raid on villages in Kandahar in southeastern Afghanistan Thursday, hunting for members of the al-Qaida terrorist network in an operation called 'Operation Valiant', which continues Friday. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) - Mar 21 7:13 AM ET

Residents listen to the radio for the BBC news program on the war on Iraq (news - web sites) in front of a shop in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Thursday, March 20, 2003. Washington says Afghanistan (news - web sites) is among some 30 countries that are part of a 'Coalition for the Immediate Disarmament of Iraq.' But there is no popular support for the military campaign here. (AP Photo/Amir Shar) - Mar 20 10:45 AM ET

An Afghan money changer listens to the latest news on his radio about the U.S.-led attack on Iraq (news - web sites) at Chaman in Pakistan-Afghanistan (news - web sites) border area, March 20, 2003. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) appeared on state television on Thursday, three hours after the United States launched a war to overthrow him, and accused U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) of committing a crime against humanity. EUTERS/Faisal Mahmood - Mar 20 7:13 AM ET

	A U.S. soldier searches an Afghan worker at Bagram airbase, March 19, 2003. Thousands of U.S.-led coalition soldiers are based in Bagram to hunt down the remnants of the al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan (news - web sites). REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw - Mar 19 7:18 AM ET

	Afghan refugee, Dil Jan, covers one eye as the other one is scanned to record her identity, as members of her family look on, Tuesday, March 18, 2003, in Peshawar, Pakistan. Jan, who has lived in the Kacha Garhi refugee camp for 22 years, is returning home to Jalalabad, Afghanistan (news - web sites) today. The UNHCR scans the refugees' eyes before they return home so that they do not try to return and obtain more than one refugee relief package. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett) - Mar 18 7:42 PM ET
	An Afghan refugee in a burqa has her eye scanned to record her identity, Tuesday, March 18, 2003, in Peshawar, Pakistan. The woman, who asked not to be identified, has lived in the Kacha Garhi refugee camp for 23 years, is returning home to Jalalabad, Afghanistan (news - web sites) today. The UNHCR scans the refugees' eyes before they return home so that they do not try to return and obtain more than one refugee relief package. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett) - Mar 18 7:44 PM ET

	An Afghan girl opens her BluePack, the first to be distributed in southern Afghanistan (news - web sites), at Dand District High School in Kandahar March 17, 2003. The BluePacks, distributed by the U.S. Army, contain slates, chalk, and other school supplies. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY REUTERS/Staff Sgt. Kevin B. Askew/U.S. Army - Mar 17 8:22 AM ET

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Afghanistan is the template for the post-Saddam Iraq. If the coalition of the willing stays the course, we will have a good chance of creating a lasting mideast ally for many generations. IMO.

[InspiredPath1]

Thanks for posting these pic's. It's sometimes easy to forget the good coming from our actions when we are assaulted daily for the bad we are supposedly causing.

[Lady Jag]

If the coalition of the willing stays the course, we will have a good chance of creating a lasting mideast ally for many generations.

From your mouth to God's ears.

Thanks for posting this. I would love to see some pix like that from Iraq soon.

[GraniteStateConservative]

We'll bookend Iran and give them the squeeze. Then, we move on to Syria.

[isthisnickcool]

We ought to send the GI's some of these for the kids:

Kids love bubbles.....

[martin_fierro]

Great, inexpensive idea. Good clean fun! <|:)~

[TomGuy]

Thanks for posting this. I would love to see some pix like that from Iraq soon.

We already see some. Kids picking up those yellow food packets (huge grins on their faces). Non-military Iraqis clapping, waving, thanking the GI's, even offering them -- the GI's -- food. In the days to come we'll see more and more of these.

Diogenesis posts a great set of pix nearly daily under the "Gotta See" heading. [It's good to keep a box of Kleenex handy when you view them--alergies, ya know.]

[Lady Jag]

Those pix of happy kids are one thing that makes us want to go on. Before we liberated Afghanistan none of the kid smiled. Now they do and that really matters.

I often post photos on Diogenesis' Gotta See This thread. It's my favorite regular thread.

[Ruth A.]

Thank you. BTTT

[Argus]

It would be nice to have a mideast ally in a democratic Iraq, but I'll be happy just to settle for a normal country that no longer harbors hostile terrorists or mass murder weapons.

[piasa]

They're way ahead of you.... look in the bottom right corner:

[isthisnickcool]

They're way ahead of you.... look in the bottom right corner:

Thanks! Cool! Noe all we need to do is start transmitting SpongeBob Squarepants in their language.

[Cordova Belle]

Thanks so much for this inspiring thread!