From Saturday Night: Panjshir

Ok, have had lots of questions about this photo. It is an old Russian armored personnel carrier. The Mujaheddin blew it up during the Soviet invasion and have kept it since (along with several stacks of artillery pieces, and such) were scattered all about.


I’m back at Baghram. All seems to be going well. In Panjshir it was really beautiful. I thought about trying to stay and work! It is more like high threat development than counter-insurgency operations. We didn’t have to wear our body armor, aka battle rattle, there or go out in the monstrously imposing Humvees. The team was well integrated and while it was small and remote, they had a good camaraderie.

The Panjshir province has a pretty remarkable history. It was the last part of Afghanistan to “Islamize” and was the only place that wasn’t taken by the Russians (and the rusted remnants of their equipment lie scattered around the mountains), or the Taliban. The people live in sparse communities scattered throughout the valleys in the mountains. The mountains are almost impassable except by donkey. That is slowly changing now with hundreds of millions of dollars being invested in a road that goes up the main valley and the establishment of rib roads. I would have loved to have come here 30 years ago and just walked through the mountains with an interpreter. It is easy to see the gradual encroachment of the global economy…and I really wish that wasn’t always the case. In some ways, it will be good when we are all the same, but I enjoy most the unique cultures, traditions, and perspectives of indigenous people around the world. We slowly are losing that which makes us different.

So, wearing my southerner hat, Panjshir helped me gain a bit of insight as to why some of the animosity is still found against the North in parts of the South. The devastation that was wrought really never hit home when I read the history books, but, driving through the mountains in Panjshir helped me understand a bit. Seeing how bare they were, I learned that the Soviets had their own version of a “scorched earth” policy. Seeing the naked mountains must have just served as a reminder of the hard and painful past. I’m glad I grew up in a part of the US that had some balance between the North and South and managed to escape some of the worst of it.

With the progress of our civilization, some of our best breakthroughs are in how to destroy one another. I wonder if that is really progress.

Written from the Pat Tillman (NFL all-star who was killed in Afghanistan) USO.

Peace…

From a distance

Sometimes being further away from something you have the chance to consider it more objectively. I understand that the gaps between the rich and poor are slowly coming into focus in the US. I’m not sure why, perhaps it is just that the middle class is feeling vulnerable and is scared about what could happen to them?

To show just how prevalent the exalted lifestyle of the elite has become in our society, I had a long conversation with a member of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Panjshir. She was badmouthing the benefits of the military. A colleague of mine and I stopped her and asked if she didn’t get the same benefits as others in the military. After a positive reply, we started asking about the medical, dental, and life insurance, and about the pension. She felt the benefits were very poor. After discussion, some recognition as to the value of the benefits provided by the military was if nothing else superior to the 1/6 of Americans that receive none. It was an interesting conversation…

Like 9/11 this “crisis” is offering the nation an opportunity to look at what it has become…and make adjustments if necessary. We wasted an opportunity after 9/11 to unify the world behind a common cause. I hope the dialogue has begun at home to unify the nation into creating a more just and equitable system that provides equal opportunity to all. For too long we have lived with blinders on, preventing us from any understanding as to what our country is becoming. I hope we’ll accept the cause of redirecting our charted course back to where it once was.

Here, as many places, I can see what happens when communities fail to dream together and do not unite in their quest to achieve that dream.

All about the Bs

Was back in Kabul Sat. night, at Baghram in Kapisa Province Sunday night, and now in Panjshir Mon night. Haven't had any time to write or much computer access. For those of you who are worried, I'm fine. In the safest province in Afghanistan! The last attack was by an older man who decided if he fired a rocket launcher, it would get the attention of the coalition forces and more funds would be spent here since the tranquility seemed to only get them ignored.

I’m going to miss a lot about Kala Gush. Some of which I’ve mentioned, others not so much…
-Banana milk-nuff said
-Beard covers by the servers in the cafeteria
-Basketball breaks in the middle of the day
-Convenient gym that has enough stuff you can get in a good cardio and weights workout when you want
-Computer lab that is easily accessible (though in high demand) that feels like a club house.
-Weather patterns that are constantly shifting, but always interesting and pretty...even the gray swirling clouds don’t stay long
-Southern-ness oozing from some of these guys to the point that this feels like a tight-knit community.

See how easy it is to make someone feel comfortable? It is all about the B’s, banana milk, beard covers, basketball, breaks, beauty and benevolence. We'll see how FOB Lion in Panjshir measures up. So far I have already noticed banana milk and beard covers. I've got a 10+ hour day of facilitating planning tomorrow so I'm not sure there will be much time for basketball. We'll see!

Swamped today will try to write a bit more later this week if I can.

Peace...

Public Health and the Environment in Conflict Settings

Sounds like the typical international development concern, right? I just read an article about how one Forward Operating Base Commander was concerned with the trash that was being produced and set up a recycling program. With minimal effort, they cut down on waste by 30% in just a few weeks. They are continuing to push out to the rest of the base and to build more receptacles.

What does it matter? Well, it saves the US taxpayer money in the long run. Some bases have trash picked up, if this is the case, it is a way of minimizing the demands and costs of waste collection. More importantly perhaps is the impact on the bases who do not have waste removal services. The trash is simply burned and increasing numbers of soldiers are arriving in VA hospitals with respiratory infections, increased cancer rates, etc. Right now, medical experts are guessing that this is the result of burning the plastics and the carcinogens they hold. Everything that is drunk here is from water or Gatorade bottles or canned sodas, or my favorite, the little juice boxes that are almost enough for a 5 year old. I wonder how many 100ml banana flavored milk or pineapple juice a 200 pound soldier drinks in 125 degree heat? I think I would pretty easily drink about 20 a day. Crazy.

There really is great support for the soldiers, to the extent that the care that is provided erodes the individual’s sense of responsibility. Food is sometimes wasted, toiletries that are donated are left in the showers at some of the bases, people use stacks of napkins, and the trash is prolific. As the military is slowly becoming greener out of cost savings and maneuverability, I hope that this culture of neglect will be addressed - just as some of us in the Department of State are trying to cut down on waste there.

Having said this, a lot of the living quarters here are pretty basic. Just plywood walls, ceilings, floors with a frame holding it up. The kind of thing I think I could throw up with a few friends in an afternoon at most. Luckily for them, there is a unit to heat or cool the hooch, but right now it isn’t needed. These buildings are about the size of what you’d think of when you pictured an old one-room schoolhouse or country church. Turns out, they cost $50,000 to make-no insulation or anything, basically a tree-house on the ground. The gov’t has got to have more oversight, as noted in the SIGIR reports on Iraq and that would allow the chance to bid more contracts instead of having these huge overarching contracts.

Peace…

Target Practice

Last night was the first, a huge THHUUMMMP, followed by more vibrations than used to be pumped out of the cruising “red neck rolls” that were in my hometown (the owners tore their back seats out and installed a radio system big enough for most small towns in the open space and trunk. The whole building I was in shook violently. Not one to sit still for too long when I have no idea what is going on, I immediately shot up from my computer and looked to a soldier next to me who was a bit bemused. He explained that it was just target practice. Two or three others followed, yielding a sizable jump from me.

This morning, I’m glad I didn’t live in the mountain about 5km away. The Afghan National Army who is co-located here at Kala Gush was practicing with shells that were the size of my leg. Wow. I went and got earplugs and continued to jump with each of the 30 or so THHUUMMMPs.

Peace…

Activity here at Kala Gush

Today, the base was a beehive of activity, I think at least 10 or so helicopters were in and out whereas the past few days since my arrival here, there may have been three. The elevation is high enough that the Apaches have a lot of equipment problems.

Yesterday a 2 star General was supposed to come visit to get a read-out on the current situation. Well, his flight was cancelled due to weather considerations, but 2 USAID flights got in that day yet again proving that given the proper resources, civilians can often do things cheaper and faster than the military. This is especially true in humanitarian assistance operations!

Peace…

Reality setting in

I never really knew what to expect coming out here to Afghanistan. I’ve been places with bodyguards, military escorts, or needing armored vehicles. I’ve seen protests turn to chaos, moved fast through areas I shouldn’t have been in at night, and felt the risk, but I’ve not ever been in more than what I would consider an unstable environment. Afghanistan’s numbers are nothing compared to Iraq, or especially Vietnam, but the environment is just as tense as it is considered a high threat environment.

Before anyone starts to worry, I’m not running around too much in the “bad neighborhoods” so just think of it like a big city, which has some elements of danger everywhere, but there are some places you just don’t go unless you are with someone from there that knows it well.

Having said that, Sunday was a hard day for me. I woke up to find out that the base had been “attacked” with small arms fire while I was sleeping. Not very disconcerting though since it couldn’t have had an impact on me. Still, it made me frustrated that we are stuck in such a difficult role and are having to justify that to people here and not doing a good job of it.

We went back to our facilitation with Task Force Duke who oversees the provinces of Nangarhar, Nuristan, Konar, and Laghman. Around lunch, we’d heard a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Nangarhar, where I was supposed to deploy to, was hit with an IED and there were four casualties. Two of them had died. A bit later during a session, a soldier stuck his head in the door and urgently asked if anyone was O+. A few of us responded and he said if we were willing to donate blood, to head to the hospital on base. Not much more was said, but on the way out the door, we were told that two of the guys from Nangarhar were in the hospital and bleeding profusely. We half-ran to the hospital to find many people already there. They thrust forms in our hands and told us to fill them out quick and get hydrated. We were told one of the soldiers had died and the other had lost both legs and a hand and they had gone through all they blood they had. The medical team was dashing back and forth between two low-hanging buildings grabbing supplies, blood, mops, and other personnel, staying totally focused despite what must have been a bad day. Way back when, before my anti-malarial drugs kept me from being able to, I used to give blood, but it was in a very disconnected setting - a nice bloodmobile, or collection center. Here, the purpose seemed clear. I was glad to have the opportunity again. The line was somber with his military police colleagues that were out on patrol with him when the Humvee got his were there watching. It was a time I could look on my fellow citizens and be proud. I’ve been in several places where if the call went out, only a few would appear. Here, there were people laid out on cots in the sun, some even lying in the dirt with other volunteers rocking the blood “bags” to help out. Not much later, we learned the soldier died on the table, that they just couldn’t keep him going. It got 6-8 lines in the back corner of the New York Times and the folks on the base were upset. I looked at everyone around me that day, wondering what they were thinking, if they were scared, angry, hurt. Special ceremonies were held in two places the next day for the 4 men. My itinerary was changed to allow the Nangarhar team to have some down time and collect themselves. One of my colleagues just left as Commander of the Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team a few months ago and despite his cool distance, you could tell he was hurting for what would have been his men.

The war here is nothing like the scale of wars everyone reads about and studies, but loss is still loss, regardless of the scale.

Peace…

Prisoner...Rule of Law...St. Patty's...and Quality of Life

As some of you know, there are a few US prisons here in Afghanistan that are primarily around the airfields. While waiting for my ride yesterday, a helicopter landed, and two guys pulled a blindfolded and handcuffed guy from inside. He was pushed/pulled as quickly as possible toward a waiting truck and whisked off.

It didn't sit right with me that he was blindfolded. Probably it was for security reasons, so he wouldn't see the layout of the airfield since photos are not allowed...but...what was more disconcerting, was me wondering how I would have felt witnessing this during WWII, or the first Gulf War-excited and hopeful I think. Yesterday, I couldn't help but wonder if he would ever have charges filed against him, if he would be tortured, or if he was even guilty. I know this was only the case for a very few prisoners before and thankfully Obama rescinded many executive orders and interpretations of the law that were put forward during the past administration that allowed that to happen. Surely though, my being here in support of the effort, and wondering if our own rule of law system would hold up (while trying to foster a nascent one in another country) isn't a good thing. Maybe the media can be blamed for making too big of a deal out of it, but actually, I think that the media didn't focus on this very much at all. I hope that Americans will embrace our civil rights as tightly as our forfathers who enshrined them in the Bill of Rights and fight before we relinquish them again, no matter what the circumstance. They really are the bedrock of a democratic society and without them, there is legitimate no rule of law in my opinion.

Having said that, the tactical part of efforts here are very cautious. Due to the ability of the Taliban to take precise hits and push the media to portray them as attacks on weddings, schools, and the like. The military takes every precaution not to make a mistake and I am glad that another terrorist was taken into custody. This means one less person building roadside bombs, or attacking district governors, or sabotaging the construction of primary health care clinics.

On a lighter note, I left my green polo in Kabul, so I had to wear green boxers today so my great-grandmother wouldn't roll over in her grave and my mom wouldn't fuss too much. I might actually pin on one of those shamrocks we used to fight about in the mornings before school when I was younger. I never did know where my dad stood on that, I think he just knew it wasn't a battle to pick as he wouldn't win. Following the St. Patty's day musings, on my way to the shower today, I crossed with a short local Nuristani man with a big smile on his face and a friendly wave. His bright red beard caused me to do a double take. Our own leipreachán right here in the mountains! I didn't think it would be culturally apropo to hold him down and demand his pot of gold.

For the first time, I noticed the Beck's beer in the chow hall which is non-alcoholic of course! Strange. I get my laundry done today...for free, and back in 24 hours. GREAT:)

A lot of effort is put into the soldiers' quality of life. I can't imagine how happy the guys would have been in Vietnam to get to play videogames, watch movies, eat lobster and ice cream, play poker, surf the net, etc. I would think in many ways, a deployment would be a wonderful way to clear your head, relax, and refocus your life if that was ever necessary. Unfortunately, there is sometime a great deal of risk that comes with that opportunity as well.

I'm off to shoot a few hoops before starting our next meeting on Lines of Effort here in Nuristan!

Helicopters and stars...

I have lots to catch up on and will try to do that soon, but I just found something I loved today in ways similar to SCUBA. After feeling a bit trepidacious, I climbed up into the helicopter surely looking like a dork in my helmet and flak jacket unsure how my fear of heights would impact me.

I sat in the middle and within 2 minutes, really wished I hadn't. WOW! I never want to be on a plane again! We had 4 stops as I made my way up into Nuristan from Jalalabad. It was incredible to see the snow-capped mountains, the dusty plains, the river valleys with the intricate array of terraced crops. I took a bunch of pictures...this may be the first country I've visited that I have more pictures from the air than the ground! I loved it and can't wait to jump in again.

Granted, sitting there isn't as fun as swimming around underwater, but I had that same "otherworldly" feel...that maybe you aren't supposed to be here (as it is the realm of birds), but it is great to pretend and so much easier without the boxed in feel of a plane. Maybe the Wright brothers had the best idea after all! I just hope that the skies are perfectly clear next time.

Speaking of, I'm up in the mountains at a base, and there are almost no lights to be seen. A few beams coming from under the doors, but if you look up, even on this overcast night, some stars are gleaming. I can't wait to see the sky the next few nights. It is going to be as incredible as Namibia was for sure. Maybe even better! I'm sure you might have thought I meant Hollywood royalty when I mentioned stars, but alas no, I just left Jalalabad as Christine Amanpour was coming in for a CNN spotlight on the Hearts and Minds Campaign here. That is fine by me, the goofy picture of me and Biden in Georgia was enough international coverage for the year.

I feel much better here, the air is clear, the mountains are back around me, and the food is still good. Tomorrow kicks off a big day, so I'd better head on. Will be playing catch up with this now that I have a bit of access over the next few days.

Peace...

Cheating, curry, connections, and class

Today, I learned how stones can be painted to appear like Lapis-you look for natural cracks, and if they are brighter blue, instead of being grey or white, you know you've got a fake on your hands. Just a helpful tidbit for those of you out there in the market for lapis.

I had some green curry today for lunch...which seems to have made my day-or maybe it was the sleeping in? It was the only day off that folks take around here, so I only worked about 6-7 hours.

In the past two days, I learned that one of my Russian friends who studied with me in Hungary was in Dubai when I flew through. Also, in trying to reach out to a friend of mine in Bhutan, I found another friend on Facebook from India who is now in Sudan. At some point, we should all get chips embedded to show where we are! Who knows how many people have been near as I've travelled and I not even realized it!

Had an interesting discussion about the various military forces here on the ground. Let's just say those of you who are always looking for something to be patriotic about, there is a lot of positive things that can be said about our troops. They seem to be grouped with the Brits, Danes, Canadians, and Aussies at the head of the class.

I won't have much access for a bit, but I'll finally have good stories when I do!

Peace...

Australia…friends…and elevation

I thought Australia was great. The movie, not the country. I’m not sure why it didn’t do better in theaters. Perhaps I’ll find the country to be great soon! I enjoy being able to work on things in the evening and watch movies at the same time. I know I’m not quite as fast, but it is a nice change of pace. Today I surprisingly bumped into an old friend from Chemonics who is serving as the development advisor for one of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams. He really is enjoying it, and made the interesting comparison of his work to Peace Corps since it is always changing and he has so much access to people.

I’m a bit perplexed as to why 2 stories of stairs seems to make everyone breathe hard due to the elevation. Certainly, I'm not in the shape I used to be in. I understand the concept of limited oxygen in higher elevations, but if that is the case, why are people able to do cardio workouts and not be under any increased stress? I pushed hard on a bike yesterday for 45 min and was ok, and see people running for an hour, and yet those stairs coming up from the tunnel still manage to get the best of everyone!

Peace...

Elections...

One of the big upcoming challenges facing Afghanistan is how to actually pull off a major election. You may have noticed some of the discourse in the papers this past week as Karzai attempted to pull a smooth one and hold them early. It was a win-win, either all agree and he has a significant advantage over incumbents who are just now surfacing, or it is held in August, but he appears to be a guardian of the Constitution by trying to hold them within the mandated timeframe.

The numbers are pretty impressive, there will be 7,000 polling centers with 20,000 total stations. While that may not sound too overwhelming for those of you used to working at the macro level. That means the IEC alone will be training over 150,000 individuals. Of greater significance as the international coalition is attempting to empower the Afghans, by instilling faith in their system of governance, is figuring out a way to ensure that each of these locations is safe and secure. This is beyond the capacity of their police or their military and if we were to reallocate some of the international coalition's armed forces to work on this at the levels necessary, a great deal of territory would have the security compromised. This will be one of the key benefits to having the 17,000 soldier surge coming in the next few months. Some time exists, but the planning is just beginning and it will be quite challenging due to the complexities involved of finding ways for Afghan forces to provide some security and for coalition forces to do the same but in a way that Afghans know they are in control.

Granted, in the US, we have a lot of work to do as we find ways to make our machines more accountable, our processes smoother, and our people more engaged, but we should be grateful that some of the basic issues here have not been concerns since the first major elections were held. Much luckier than most countries.

Peace...

Gremlins could never make it out here...

When it isn't completely grey here, I feel like Stripe as the window blinds are open and he starts to melt. I go outside and my eyes squint so much they almost shut. My face gets sore just from being outside a few minutes.

I couldn't figure it out at first, my only idea was that the snow covered mountains ringing much of the city were reflecting the light down into the "bowl" and causing a great concentration of sunlight making it brighter.

Today, I was talking to a colleague about it, and we began to put a few more pieces of the puzzle together. There isn't a lot of greens and browns to soften the colors, most of the buildings are white and yellow. On top of that, the elevation is about 4x where I grew up in the foothills of Appalachia. Perhaps the most significant factor is the suspended particles in the air which reflect the sunlight in every direction.

So strange to have so many different types of light. The light of the sun in the forest in summer, on the snow in winter, in the jungle, on the plains of Africa, and the city of Kabul.

Peace...

GO MUHAMMAD! (Monday was the Prophet's Birthday)

In the 8th Century, Mohammad's birthplace was turned into a shrine. That sparked a celebration of his birthday much in the same way Christians celebrate Christmas but the Islamic equivalent called mawlid. Unfortunately, I didn't see any parades where people were throwing out candy today. That is a pity.

Actually, today was the first day I went out to the street while waiting for a shuttle. I didn't have a flak jacket or helmet on as it was in the protected zone, but it was the first time since I was very young, that I ever felt nervous on the street. Part of that was for getting chewed out just 2 days earlier for trying to get to a shuttle that was waiting outside for me.

Today was the first day in a while I didn't hear sad stories coming in from the field about fallen soldiers, or Afghan civilian casualties.

I wish everyday could be Mawlid.

Peace...

GO WOMEN! (Sunday was Women's Day)

Well, Sunday was an odd way to celebrate! I've been in a small room at the computer with a bunch of military guys hard at work. Oddly enough, it is women's issues that first had me interested in Afghanistan. I remember during the 90s reading about the Taliban moving quickly across territory as they fought the Northern Alliance. Back then, the US didn't seem to care much about democracy or women's issues, or rural development here (if interested, an entertaining approach to telling this story is Charlie Wilson's War). Once September 11th happened, that all changed. The ungoverned spaces came back to haunt us, just as they had in Somalia.

Driving down the street from the airport to the Embassy, I still was troubled by the few women I saw allowed in public who had donned burkhas. For whatever reason, it just doesn't sit well with me. I know that some of them choose to do so, but I also know that more than a decade went by when if they didn't, they were whipped...

So, all you Western women...be grateful for the rights and freedoms you have, and find ways that you can help address some of the pressing women's issues around the world: health care (in the US or abroad), education, representation in government, etc.

Thank you for all you do ladies. I can think of one mother and sister in particular who are pretty great! I hope all of you had a wonderful day.

Peace...

GO HEELS! (Sunday was another example of basketball beauty)

Ok, some things you just have to sacrifice for. I was up late two nights ago working and had the TV on and ran across the UCONN and PITT game. Wow, they show NCAA games here on satellite tv...which brought me immediately to Sunday, and the opportunity to watch a relatively significant little game down in NC between the Tarheels and Duke:)

Well, the best team won...and I was happy...and felt it quite surreal. The middle of the morning, in a war zone, where there is only about a 20% literacy rate, and minimal infrastructure...to be watching such a spectacle. Granted, the sound didn't work and occasionally the picture was fuzzy, but who knew thee was an appreciation for the greatest rivalry in college sports all the way out here?

I don't know if they will pull it off, but the Tarheels certainly have the talent to win it again this year.

Peace...

What color car do you drive and why it matters…

On Thursday in one of the UN meetings I attended, I saw first hand the conflict I’d been reading about in the paper. What was it about? Who gets to drive cars of which color. Silly? Sure, a bit. But, think about it a bit and you’ll realize that it is much more serious than it first appears.

For decades, since the signing of the Geneva Convention which offers us a “code of conduct” for war (bizarre concept, I know), humanitarian organizations have used white vehicles. It identified them, as non-combatants and they were rarely targeted.

An odd twist came about with the Marshall Plan following WWII. The Western countries began to feel obligated to assist the countries that they had exploited under colonial/capitalist regimes. This resulted not just in increased charitable giving, but also an “industry” emerged to focus on helping poor countries “develop”. Thus, organizations like CARE, the United States Agency for International Development, Aga Kahn, and many others came to be. These weren’t necessarily purely humanitarian organizations as they were also helping communities and countries figure out better ways to farm, govern, and educate. Obviously, these organizations aren’t combatants though and so they too began driving white vehicles so that their host counterparts would know that.

Fighting counterinsurgencies isn’t the same as your “father’s oldsmobile”. While humanitarian organizations ranging from the Red Cross to the United Nations, and international development organizations are all out in the field - so are soldiers. Here, military components from over 40 countries are engaged in this battle.

Early in the war, occasionally special operations would try to enter difficult areas under the guise of development workers. This was done to allow better access to gather intelligence and conduct operations against terrorists. The problem? Communities and terrorists no longer knew if they could trust the white vehicles. This resulted in increased suspicion of development and relief workers and jeopardized the relationships they built with those they served. Apparently, starting in 2006, more and more militaries began procuring white vehicles, for no other reason than they were generally cheaper as they were the standard factory issued color. As they proliferated, the non-combatants staffing the humanitarian and development organizations felt their security was being compromised, and indeed, if you look at their statistics, they have had increasing numbers of staff killed each year.

So, at Thursday’s meeting, the organizations were angry and insisting the military stop using white vehicles and identify themselves as combatants as is required under the Geneva convention. The military suggested if the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) were concerned, they should choose to self-identify, perhaps painting the non-combatant vehicles bright pink, or maybe blue, as they had to in Iraq, might help? But that would be proving the negative, and so the argument went round and round with a great deal of eye-rolling. Letters have been sent to the tops of organizations to no avail. I wonder if the civilians feel so strongly, if they shouldn’t just file a case in the Hague at the International Court of Justice. It would be an interesting precedent, but one I’m not sure the militaries around the world would always follow.

What is the final twist? Opposition forces, aka the Taliban, have declared that the humanitarian and development organizations are basically serving as extensions of the government and as a result are legitimate targets. Do these organizations really want vehicles that identify themselves as “soft” and therefore potentially places them in more jeopardy? Maybe it is better that there be some uncertainty as to whether or not, it is full of some do-gooders out to teach some farmers how to grow saffron or a car full of “snake-eaters” out to survey the area?

Peace...

Random Thoughts

Tomorrow it is back to the old hooch. My colleague had travel difficulty due to the weather and the assignment had to be cut short. Ah, nothing like the smell of kabobs in the morning! I'll miss the internet access and the effort some of the USAID folks went to to have their containers seem a bit more like home (wind chimes, lawn ornaments, small grills, etc).

I've gotten several tattoos since arriving, fish, phoenix, anchors, tribal masks, etc. I just have to decide where to put them. Not many people can say they've gotten temporary tattoos from bubble gum wrappers from Dubai!

Monday is prophet's day here, so perhaps I'll actually get some time off. Unfortunately, that is also when the highest level meeting is scheduled that I help support so all of us will be working at least a few hours that day. I'm ready for some time off though. Too much time reading computer documents and writing. One of the Afghan staff here that works in a support function I learned is a musician. He apparently has a CD he recorded and I'm excited to listen. My ear has never made peace with the different sounds, melodies, and scales of much of northern Africa, the middle east, and parts of Asia so it will be interesting.

Anyone skimming this that read about the blast, I'm fine, it wasn't here. No worries!

Peace...

Photographs

Ah, wouldn't you like to see some great photos of Afghanistan? I'd love to post some...to share what I've seen. But for those of you out there who doubted me about the security of the setting I'm in, photographs aren't allowed on the Embassy compound. Even if they were, it just isn't that exciting!

See, I'm not ignoring your requests. I just can't take pictures here! It does make some sense. Photos could be used by all the insurgents reading my blog to formulate a plan of attack on the compound, and out of the interest of my safety, I've chosen to comply and thwart their efforts.

I did opt not to take photos as I wound through the streets on my drive here from the airport. My camera and I still aren't comfortable enough with each other and our interaction with others to know when it would be kosher, or perhaps in this case, halaal. Photographing people in traditional/indigenous settings is what I enjoy most, but also find it to be the most intrusive. While I have been known to shoot a few photos when the subjects were least suspecting, I tend to bypass those opportunities because I feel like it increases the antagonism toward me and future outsiders.

Peace...

Flying into Kabul (belated posting from Thurs. 2/26)

Time and internet access don’t seem to have been in much abundance over the past few days. Not that anything earth-shattering has happened, but it seems like after initiating a blog, it might be a good idea to post!

I breathed a huge sigh of relief boarding the plane in DC to Dubai. Even if things remained undone, they just had to stay that way. Dubai was just as I’d remembered. Crawling with tons of immigrants working in the service industry, and the rest of it seeming like some odd form of DisneyWorld/Las Vegas combo. I didn’t get to see my friend passing through, but it was great to talk on the phone. Strange how people’s accents change over time. I can’t think of one of my friend’s from Cape Town who sounds the same as when we were there.

I’m flying over the clouds on my way to Kabul on Kam Air. I think many of the passengers are hired guns of some sort or another-like me. Luckily, should guns ever come into the equation while I’m in Afghanistan, I will have others people around me whose job is to worry about that. However, my grandfather’s instruction in his backyard with the BB gun and some tin cans seems to have been good enough to impress at the shooting range earlier this month!

I won’t ramble, but I do want to recommend the movie “The Secret Life of Bees.” It won’t be ideal if you are looking for a great romance, action, or comedy flick, but the story is good and the character development is outstanding.

Off to try to catch up on some emailing. But before I do, the snow-capped mountains are peaking up above the clouds on the left and are really breath-taking. They are harsh and jagged, brown with harsh folds marking their erosion over the millennia. I’m awed by such mountains, but they only make me miss “my” mountains back home in east Tennessee and west North Carolina with their gentle slopes and welcoming valleys.

Peace…

Double Standards

After a few more meetings and several hundred pages of more reading, I’m starting to gain increasing amounts of clarity about the work that is being done here and needs to be done. Today one thing kept hitting home for me. Why are we willing to make difficult choices and decisions that consider long-term impacts and opportunity costs in other countries when we aren’t willing to do the same in our own?

In the two crisis response operations I’ve been involved in, the US Government was willing to consider things such as wind farms, hydro-electric power, and here, we’re even distributing seeds that can be used for crops, and then collected for planting during the next cycle. I am glad we are making such choices, don’t take my observation as a complaint. I even acknowledge and appreciate that the choices are being funded from my paychecks. What perplexes me, is why don’t we have the willingness to fund such things through taxpayers dollars domestically? Why do we allow private companies to “harness” nature so that if a farmer replants seeds, a lawsuit for intellectual property rights awaits? Why are we still beholden to oil? Why even with these massive stimulus packages are we not seriously committing our country to a clean source of energy and ensuring independence based on renewable sources, thus undercutting the main source of funding for so much of the terrorism that goes on around the world-not to mention addressing the key issue facing humanity and creation itself-global warming?

In my opinion, the easy answer is a mistrust of the federal government that I believe evolved during the Vietnam conflict and was solidified by the Watergate affair. Compounding that mistrust, have been a few decades where we looked purely for short-term gains as reflected by the housing market, the dividends of stocks, and the next election campaign cycle. This pulled us away from investing in our communities, neighborhoods, infrastructure, and future and it eventually came back to haunt us. One could hope that this current recession may serve to correct our moral compass as a country, but I had the same hope after 9/11 and that was a small blip on the nation’s conscience.

A few other really neat things I learned about today...some of our messaging to the people in Afghanistan has been really good. Several provinces are hosting Women's day events, others are holding prayer breakfasts during Prophet's day. A jazz quartet is performing in many towns and we are passing around calendars noting mosques of America. Ok, the last one isn't perfect, but then again, I think it is vital if we are to convince the world that we aren't on a crusade.

I moved into some new digs today. So far so good! More tomorrow...

Peace...