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War Against Terrorism Through the Lens of National Geographic News |
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National Geographic News |
| Last updated March 12, 2002 |
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War Against Terrorism Through the Lens of National Geographic News Robert Young Pelton has traveled around the world visiting war zones and meeting rebel leaders. He returned from Afghanistan in December after spending a month traveling with the U.S. Special Forces, and General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former commander in the Northern Alliance and deputy defense minister in the interim government. He discusses his experiences with National Geographic News. Dispatch From Afghanistan: Aftermath of Fort Uprising Robert Young Pelton is in Afghanistan following the U.S. military campaign against the Taliban and efforts to track down Osama bin Laden, the Saudi millionaire fugitive, after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and other incidents of terrorism. NationalGeographic.com/news will publish his periodic reports from the field. Below, Pelton talks with Brian Handwerk in a phone interview. Afghanistan: Profile and Photo Gallery U.S. Buys Up Afghanistan Images From Top Satellite The Pentagon has bought exclusive rights to all pictures of Afghanistan taken by the world's most powerful commercial imaging satellite, Ikonos, boosting its own intelligence resources while blocking both its military opponents and the media from obtaining pictures of the war zone. Afghanistan Reporter Looks Back on Two Decades of Change Edward Girardet has visited Afghanistan at least 40 times in the past 23 years to report on the country and its people. He describes his experience and insights in the December National Geographic magazine and in an interview with National Geographic News. Geographic's Race to Make New Map of Afghanistan Recent events have provoked a sudden and intense interest in the people and geography of Afghanistan. Mapmakers at the National Geographic Society have responded by creating an up-to-date, detailed picture of the changing situation in the country, National Geographic Today reports. Afghanistan War Notebook The early days of Operation Enduring Freedom, including photo galleries. Pilotless Planes Earn Their Wings in 21st-Century Warfare Pilotless aircraft—officially "unmanned aerial vehicles"—are increasingly critical in modern warfare. With the ability to fly for days at a time over enemy lines while sending back a stream of video and photographs to soldiers on the ground, they have no crew that may be at risk if the planes are shot down. Comment: Washington, New York—Bonded by History Washington and New York are the two cities that define the United States of America's character, writes historian Edward C. Smith. Outwardly vastly different, they nonetheless have much in common and have shared many experiences and personalities in their history. The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 has bound them to one another more tightly. Attack on America: An Islamic Scholar's Perspective In an interview with Nationalgeographic.com, Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki of the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, shares his perspective on the tragic events of September 11 and the impact they have had on the United States and the world. After Terrorist Attack, Afghans in U.S. Challenge Cultural Stereotype The tragedy of the terrorist attack on the United States has drawn together, but also splintered, the global family. As people around the world unite in grief and efforts to recover, there is a desperate urge for greater understanding of differences in cultures and religions. Koran a Book of Peace, Not War, Scholars Say Osama bin Laden, who is widely assumed to be the force behind the September 11 hijackings in the United States, cites the Koran, Islam's most holy book, as the inspiration for terrorist attacks. But Muslim scholars around the world who are reviled by such actions explain that the Koran preaches peace. Geographic Veteran Reflects on Fear Captured in Photographs Fear comes in many forms, during famine, war, disease, and other situations of chaos and despair. Karen Kasmauski, who has taken photographs for National Geographic in all corners of the world, has seen the faces of fear in front of her lens many times, and is heartened by the strength of the human spirit. Condolences for Loss of Geographic Team on Flight 77 As the National Geographic Society celebrated the lives of Ann Judge and Joe Ferguson at a memorial service in Washington, D.C., condolences continue to be received from all over the world. The staffers and a group of geography students and teachers they were accompanying were killed when terrorists hijacked their aircraft and slammed it into the Pentagon. Commentary: Historically, D.C. No Stranger to Attacks In putting into perspective the September 11 terrorist attack on America, historian Edward C. Smith recalls how the British burned down the White House and the Capitol and how Washington could so easily have been invaded by the Confederacy after the first battle of the Civil War. The world wars of the last century turned Washington into a world capital. It is, Smith writes, a city defined by war. DNA Analysis Aids Efforts to Identify New York Disaster Victims September 19, 2001—The destruction of the World Trade Center has led to the largest and most gruesome forensics project in history. Rescue teams are working around the clock retrieving body parts from the rubble for DNA analysis in an effort to identify all the victims. Inferno Heat, Not Impact, Brought Down Towers, Experts Say Not long after two hijacked jets crashed into the upper floors of the World Trade Center, millions of people watched in horror as the buildings collapsed to the ground like stacks of pancakes. Experts told the TV news show National Geographic Today that had it not been for the raging inferno caused by the jet fuel fires, the buildings might still be standing. Search-and-Rescue Tested at New York Disaster Site Three experimental robots, each about the size of a shoebox, are being used to search for victims in the mountain of rubble that was once the World Trade Center in New York City. The TV news show National Geographic Today looked at the development of these new search-and-rescue tools. After the Attack: How You Can Help and Other Sources of Information A list of resources related to the recent terrorist attacks on America, including information on making donations to relief efforts, grief counseling, transportation updates, and the latest known status of victims, survivors, and missing persons. Condolences for Loss of Geographic Team on Flight 77 Many readers worldwide have sent e-mail messages expressing their sorrow at the loss of two National Geographic staffers and three teachers and three students from Washington, D.C. who died in September 11th's terrorist attacks. Traveling together to an educational field trip on the U.S. West coast, they were passengers in the plane that was hijacked and crashed into the Pentgon. After the Attacks: Regrouping, Recovering, Rebuilding As a traumatized nation began resuming the routine motions of daily life on Thursday, expressions of sympathy came from millions of people around the world, and other nations vowed to support America in the monumental task of healing and recovery after Tuesday's terrorist attacks. Why Symbols Become Targets The Pentagon and World Trade Center were targeted for attack by terrorists because they are powerful symbols of America's economic and military might—revered symbols around which the psyche of the country is tightly wrapped. The TV news show National Geographic Today looked at the meaning of such symbols. Human Toll in Attacks "Incalculable," Costs Catastrophic As authorities continue to count the deaths and clear the rubble from the Pentagon in Washington and the World Trade Center site in New York City, experts agreed that the cluster of terrorist attacks on Tuesday was one of the worst catastrophes in U.S. history—including the most destructive events that have been inflicted by nature. Team from National Geographic Killed in Pentagon Crash Two staff members of the National Geographic Society, along with three Washington, D.C., teachers and three students they were traveling with on an educational trip, were among the victims of the terrorist attacks in the United States on Tuesday. |
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