A few kilometers east of the Afghan capital Kabul is a vast graveyard of Soviet war machines. Tanks, rocket launchers, armoured personnel carriers, trucks, and other Russian-made tools of death have been stacked up to rust and rot here in the tall grass. 

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The tangle of metal carcasses offers a chilling reminder to all invaders what can happen to even the most modern army in this barren land, which swallowed up thousands of British troops in the 19th century and Russians in the 20th. 

With the Taliban resurgent and US President Donald Trump looking for an exit from the Afghan mire, does the American military face a similar fate? 

September 2019. Photos: Hassan Nikzad / Rudaw