Unexploded Ordnance, a.k.a. UXO, RugĀ . Between 2002 and August 2021 these UXO rugs have been woven in Afghanistan and will be the last for the foreseeable future. They are life sized images and for sale in these sizes 5×8 feet or 1.5M x 2.5M and 6’6″x12’6″ or 2x4M here
Category Archives: The Weapons
UXO Rugs, a.k.a Unexploded Ordnance
UXO stands for Unexploded Ordnance there are a number of examples on the site some older like the Unexploded Ordinance Warning RugĀ and some which are still for sale and newer. Check out the Turkmen and Uzbek War Rug with Light Fields.
Sometimes these rugs come with a message like the UXO warning rug which says “do not touch or play with, these are very dangerous” in both Farsi and Pashto, the “unexploded” element creating a lasting impression of suspense.
The Turkmen and Uzbek UXO rug is done in the “Chobi” or “Vegetal Dye Peshawar” style with Turkmen borders. It is exceptionally beautiful.
Drone Rug in NY Times Opinion Piece
Opinion: The Secret Death Toll of America’s Drones
The Pentagon says American airstrikes in Somalia have killed no civilians since President Trump accelerated attacks against Shabab militants there two years ago.
Amnesty International investigated five of the more than 100 strikes carried out in Somalia since 2017 by drones and manned aircraft, and in just that small sampling found that at least 14 civilians were killed.
The Pentagon says airstrikes by the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State killed at least 1,257 civilians in Iraq and Syria as of the end of January.
Airwars, a university-based monitoring group, estimates that those strikes killed at least 7,500 civilians in those countries.
Those disparities show how poorly the American public understands the human cost of an air war fought largely by remote-controlled drones. Drones have been the main weapon in the counterterrorism fight for more than a decade. They kill extremists without risking American lives, making combat seem antiseptic on the home front. But the number of civilians killed in these attacks is shrouded in secrecy.
American Drones on War Rugs
Warrug.com recently received a shipment of rugs from Peshawar, Pakistan including some new designs woven in Pakistan. The weavers are Afghan Turkmen who have settled permenantly in Pakistan after being refugees. This summer they produced three rugs featuring Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s or drones).
The blue rug below, #1566, features three different drones: Global Surveyors, Reapers, and Predators.
The second rug, below, #1580, features armed Predator drones.
Below is the third rug of the set, and it is particularly interesting because the drones are colored red, white and blue. I didn’t notice this important color choice until photoshopping (rather GiMP’ing) the border photo when I noticed the interlocking red, white, and blue border.
High Tech: Predator Drone
Predator Drone from TBD1’s Flickr set
Ma’sud Video
Red Rug Sub-Groups
Warrug.com’s selection of small red rugs illustrates sub groups of red rugs well.
‘Classic Red Rug
‘
“[not] Vegetable Dye”
Modern [true] Vegetable Dye
‘Five Genades’ (random name but most popular style)
‘Squashed Helicopter’ Style’
‘Camoflage Helicopter’ named for harlequin-esque rendering on helicopters. These were readil available in 1999 and 2000. They are like “Classic” red rugs, but not quite as finely knotted.
“Fat RPG’s” (for lack of a better name)
Call for Essays
Warrug is looking for essays for its series of upcoming publications. Please contact warrug.com with ideas if you are interested.
-Kevin