Holidays and barbed wire

Today was a high risk day...that seems to have passed without the massive outbreaks of violence that were feared. The alerts were out because it was a celebration of both kicking the Russians out of Afghanistan and also a man that many Afghans consider to be their equivalent of George Washington. I visited his tomb when I was in Panjshir. Coalition forces felt that the symbolic statements that could be made today by attacking the troops or even suicide bombings targeting the public were a significant enough possibility that all civilian travel was prohibited.

Oddly enough, the Embassy felt like this would be a good time to take down the razor wire and start the replacement process that rings the perimeter wall. I found the timing odd, but it is great to have a day or two to look out over the walls and feel a bit more normal. In a PR move that I didn't think was the most brilliant, the Mayor of Kabul was invited over to the Embassy to hold a press conference about how the city is getting safer.

Peace...