PRESIDENT ELECT TERRY WEST introduced fellow Rotarian ZARJON BAHA, Professor of Civil Engineering Technology at Purdue, who talked about the 
Historical Perspective of Afghanistan and the United States in Modern Times. He explained the map showing the former USSR, Iran, Pakistan and a bit of China as neighbors. A visit by President Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, where a sheep was given to Eleanor, opened the door to further diplomatic relationships with Afghanistan. An important decade in the relationship was from 1953 until 1963. When the USSR took over and killed the King and his whole family, the relationship with the U.S. eroded and life in Afghanistan became impossible.
ZARJON described the Helmand Province construction project in 1946. This resulted in the Helmand Valley Authority, which helped the local people learn skills. He calls it the Industrial Revolution for Afghanistan.
The School of Engineering and Agriculture at Kabul University, a project of USAID, started with American instructors and administration. Purdue was one of the cooperating schools. The standards were very tough, producing some fine engineers. When the Soviets took over, ZARJON was removed as dean of the engineering school. After ten years and the extermination of 2 million people, the Soviets left, but the ethnic tension created by them still exists today.
