Did we save Mes Aynak, Afghanistan?

Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Mes Aynak, Afghanistan (pinterest.com)

NatGeoMaps: This Sept. 2015 graphic shows fortified Kafiriat Tepe Monastery, depicted here as it may have looked in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. when it was part of the ancient mining complex of Mes Aynak, an affluent hub of early Buddhism.

American war crimes, greed for strategic dominance and an oil pipeline bring ruin.

.

Dr. Pal (ranajitpal.com)

The horrible thing is not knowing. Is the largest unexcavated Buddhist temple site -- located in the Buddha's home country of Saka (Indo-Scythia)/Gandhara (modern Afghanistan-Pakistan) -- saved? What is future of Mes Aynak?

Are Chinese developers still intent on razing it to the ground in an industrial mining operation looking for copper, rare earth minerals (for cell phones), and gold?

Or did the discovery of abundant ocean floor minerals depress prices so much that it is now not worth it to dig and destroy an irreplaceable Buddhist archeological site?

• Petition UNESCO: Save Afghanistan's 5,000-year-old Mes Aynak (change.org)

Saving Mes Aynak 2014 (IMDb)

The post-Buddhist Muslim nation is surely much more interested in recovering from the USA's staggering invasion and occupation. Is UNESCO ready to step in to save this world heritage site?

Is Afghanistan ready to return to its long since destroyed tourist circuit? That was left in the dust with Western intervention and a Soviet invasion. Will the CIA now leave the region alone?

The Greeks in Scythia

Will we ever see the Bamiyan Buddhas (including the largest, which is reclining and hidden) and the mile square city of Mes Aynak brough back from oblivion?

Wisdom Quarterly has covered this topic so extensively, inspired by the work of maverick Indian historian Dr. Ranajit Pal, Ph.D. (ranajitpal.com), that unless others have studied his work, it will not make sense why we are devoted to this strange proto-Indian, Indus Valley Civilization, going back many millennia in Buddhist history and mythology.

Mes Aynak, Copper Well, burial mound reliquary (stupa), archaeological site (pinterest.com)