Sometimes people act for the greater good

The New York Times has an amazing piece on the bravery of some clerks in Afghanistan. They successfuly saved over 20,000 priceless pieces of gold, the so-called Bactrian Gold, simply by keeping their mouths shut and keeping the Gold hidden from the Taliban and other warlords. Now, with the help of the US government and the National Geographic, the gold has finally been uncovered and put on display. From the NYT– Afghanistan was the center of the Bactrian Empire, which stretched from the city of Balkh (the ancient Bactra) across northern Afghanistan. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 329 B.C. and ruled by his Greek followers for a century afterward, it was later invaded by nomad tribes from the Siberian and Chinese steppes, who founded the dazzling Kushan dynasty in 135 B.C. … When the Taliban came to power, they demanded to see the country’s gold reserves (kept in the same safe). After they looked at the bullion (ignoring the more valuable stuff in the corner), the museum worker snapped off the key in the safe preventing anyone else from seeing the gold. The Taliban tried to get at it before they fled Kabul, but the Northern Alliance & US forces were moving just too quickly. Very interesting story.]]>