In November 2001, following the events of 9/11, British troops returned to Afghanistan as part of an international coalition to rid the country of the Taliban regime and expel Al Qa'eda.
For many the historical resonances were inescapable. In 1839 and 1878, the British had invaded Afghanistan to meet a possible Russianthreat to India. The first intervention was disastrous: the army which retreated from Kabul in 1842 had been massacred, with Dr William Brydon the only European to reach safety. The 2nd Afghan War of 1878-81 was not only more successful, but unlike the earlier war it was captured on camera. Looking at these photographs now, and comparing them with photographs taken by British Army photographers today, is it our imagination or do strange parallels emerge between a nineteenth century war of empire and the twenty-first century war on terror?
In 2001, the cause of conflict was Al Qa'eda's attack on the Twin Towers. In 1878, it was because the Amir Sher Ali of Afghanistan had admitted a Russian embassy to Kabul, but refused the British. Three British columns invaded Afghanistan to make Sher Ali change his mind, occupying Kandahar, the Kurram Valley and Jalalabad.
