Sharbat gula’s experience exemplifies the ‘white savior’ lens through which most Americans view Afghanistan

On August 29, 2021, in an emblematic end to America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan, the US military killed 10 innocent people, including 7 children, in an armed drone attack on a dense residential neighborhood of the capital city, Kabul. The Hellfire missile killed Zemari Ahmadi, an Afghan employee of the California-based aid organization Nutrition and Education International, and 9 of his relatives.