The Bitter Lake: Modernity's Unintended Consequences in Afghanistan (legrandcontinent.eu)

• Afghanistan as a failed site of mid-century Western and Soviet social engineering.
• The unintended nexus between US energy dependence and the proliferation of radical Wahhabism.
• The rise of an autonomous, globalized financial system fueled by petrodollars beyond state oversight.

"Adam Curtis examines how western engineering projects in Afghanistan and the 1945 US-Saudi alliance inadvertently fueled global destabilization. By imposing rigid modernization models, western powers triggered environmental degradation and radicalized religious movements. The subsequent oil-wealth cycle created the 'petrodollar' system, which bypassed state control and rendered political narratives ineffective. This historical lens illustrates how the collapse of coherent power structures in the West has led to a chaotic, destructive global environment, with Afghanistan serving as the primary theater for these unfolding unintended consequences."