Something was nagging away at my memory - with all this talk of the Taleban. Then I remembered, it was the destruction of those two ancient Buddha statues back in March. I knew I hated them then. To mistake ancient monuments for 'graven images' is the kind of nonsense that youthful and zealous 'religions' seem to go in for. They'll always be famous now for acts of desecration... [Was it Napoleon who shot The Sphinx's face off?]

I found information on the CNN site, which contains this slightly spooky phrase (in the light of recent events):

"Museums and governments around the world had hoped to save the two Buddhas, the earliest of which is thought to have been carved into the sandstone cliffs of Bamiyan in the third century A.D. At 53 meters (175 feet) and 36 meters (120 feet), the statues were the tallest standing Buddhas in the world.
Demolition of the two towering images was nearly finished Monday, Taleban Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal said."

And, even odder, I guess:

'Matsuura urged the international community not to take its anger at the Taleban action out on Muslim sites elsewhere.
"As inexcusable as this action is, I hope that it will not provide fanatics elsewhere with an excuse for acts of destruction targeting Muslim cultural properties," he said.

Bamiyan Buddhas at CNN