One of Afghanistan’s two UNESCO World Heritage sites lies in the Bamiyan Valley, located in the Hindu Kush mountains. Archaeologists have discovered Buddhist artwork there created between the first and 13th centuries.

But the valley’s most magnificent ancient work consists of two sixth-century Buddha statues – standing 115 and 174 feet – carved into the sandstone cliffs. In March of 2001, with much of Afghanistan under control of the Taliban, the utter magnificence of the two statues was partially destroyed. Determining that the statues were un-Islamic, the Taliban gained international disdain when, on the 11th of that month, they were blown up.

The destruction of the Buddhas is now known as the “Bamiyan Massacre” and is undoubtedly the most devastating act committed by the Taliban to eradicate Afghanistan’s history. In their continuing desecration of the statues and lack of cultural respect, the Taliban use the remnants today for target practice.

Civilized nations were enraged by the Taliban’s total lack of appreciation for the cultural preservation of a nation’s history.

Twenty-two years after the Bamiyan Massacre by the Taliban, the U.S. is on the verge of committing its own massacre that will eradicate an important part of our history. In fact, had it not been for a last-minute restraining order issued by a federal judge, that massacre would now have been completed.

The architect of this massacre is Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who proclaimed during her failed presidential campaign she supported removing all Confederate symbols from federal land if she were elected. Fortunately, she had to drop out of her campaign, but that did not deter her from seeking the eradication of any honors bestowed upon Confederate veterans that were memorialized upon federal lands. She sponsored legislation in 2020 to this end, which was later passed with the help of 41 Republican House members who apparently were more concerned about elections than our history.

Warren’s Confederate memorial removal effort has resulted in changing the names of a number of U.S. military bases and the pending destruction of one of the most magnificent statues, dedicated to those who fought for the South, located at Arlington National Cemetery. It features a total of 32 full-sized figures depicting the universal experiences of families affected by the war.

Warren’s initiative is based on her belief anyone wearing a gray uniform during our Civil War was racist for supporting slavery and, therefore, should not be so honored. Her historical naivete is reflected by the fact that only a small percentage of Confederates actually were slave owners, with most choosing to fight over the issue of states’ rights. And, in another historic oversight by Warren, efforts in the South to abolish slavery were begun in late 1863 when the idea was floated by a Confederate general.

But what is most disturbing is that the memorial in question was the idea of those who wore the blue as a gesture of reconciliation – which is why it is called the Reconciliation Memorial. Those wearing blue saw it as a means of reestablishing a brotherly bond with a one-time-only enemy. Confederate soldiers lie buried in concentric circles around the memorial as a further testimonial to this reconciliation.

Interestingly, the architect the war victors engaged to design the memorial was noted sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel – a Confederate veteran and the first Jewish graduate of Virginia Military Institute. One would think there should currently be some sensitivity to the appropriateness of removing this historic memorial by a respected Jewish architect due to the astonishing wave of antisemitism triggered by the Gaza war. Of course, this appears to be of no concern to Warren as she recently criticized Facebook for censoring pro-Hamas posts.

Workers had arrived at Arlington National Cemetery the morning of Dec. 18 only to have their statue-removal efforts halted by a federal judge’s restraining order, pending a hearing.

Warren and the Taliban obviously drink from similar glasses of ideological extremism. The Taliban’s contains an elixir of religious zeal that blinds them from accepting any culture and religion other than their own. Meanwhile, Warren’s contains an elixir of progressivism, blinding her to the destructive impact she will have on our history. Sadly, she denies veterans who served on both sides during our Civil War the memorialization in history they sought in honor of America’s reunification in the aftermath of that divisive conflict.

At the follow-on hearing, a decision on the memorial’s future status turned on whether its removal would disturb any of the surrounding grave sites. The judge ruled that plaintiffs failed to show it would and therefore vacated the restraining order, allowing the removal to go forward. Thus a memorial embraced by those who wore both the blue and the gray, seeking to commemorate our nation’s reunification, is to be unceremoniously removed due to a senseless political act by Warren. One can only hope, should any grave site be disturbed, that its occupant(s) endlessly haunt the naive senator for her senseless and shameful disrespect of the thoughtful desire by these veterans – at a time it was badly needed – to help heal the wounds of war.

This article was originally published by the WND News Center.

This post originally appeared on WND News Center.