Afghanistan had the Taliban. The US has Donald Trump.

In 2001 the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan – two monumental 6^th century monumental Buddhist reliefs in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan.

Both structures were destroyed by the Taliban following an order given on February 26, 2001, by Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, to destroy all the statues in Afghanistan “so no one can worship or respect them in the future”.

International and local opinion condemned the destruction and the site and statues were inscribed in 2003 as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Buddhas were recognized as an outstanding expression of Gandharan Buddhism.

Meanwhile, back in Trump’s America, Trump is planning to destroy a 4,000 year old rock art site, the Fate Bell Shelter, and replace it with his much-touted border wall.

The US Customs and Border Protection agency intends to build a massive ‘smart wall’ using a mix of steel bollard fencing, vehicle barriers and high-tech surveillance.

The wall includes 266 kilometres of four to six foot tall vehicle barriers running straight through the Seminole Canyon State Park which contains 27 murals – murals older than the pyramids.

The area is part of the longest remaining unwalled section of the US-Mexican border – a remote area which includes the Big Bend national park.

The Guardian (24 August) reported that the rock art features three massive human-like figures on an overhang.

The Guardian cites the Texan archaeologist, Carolyn Boyd, saying the Indigenous hunter-gatherers must have spent months gathering the raw materials to produce painted figures 30 feet tall.

The Guardian said the area had been unwalled until now because the terrain impeded most illegal crossings and the Mexican side had no major cities and few large towns. Steep cliffs are common in the area.

Boyd also said there was little logical reason to guard the area from vehicle crossings because there are no paved roads and just shrubby landscape strewn with boulders.

It also quoted a local rancher and former wildlife biologist in the Big Bend national park, Raymond Skiles, saying he had only seen eight people crossing on foot and also said that the terrain was such a threat the wall would require heavy blasting which would damage the rock art.

The Fisher Sand and Gravel Co, which received a $2.7 billion contract to build the barrier, has had normal planning requirements waived, and the Trump and administration has waived federal laws on environmental reviews and damage mitigation plans.

Local landowners received letters in February this year offering $5,00 to cede portions of the family’s land for construction without going through the eminent domain process.

The Fisher Sand and Gravel Co will do rather better than those financial offers to owners in the area while the ancient murals will be destroyed just as parts of the White House, the reflecting pool and, soon, the demolition of the Kennedy Centre.