Back in the World

Well everyone, you probably figured out that Kabul Joe had gone away. He took the bird home, and is now just another faceless government contractor in the greater DC area. Check out his new ravings at http://formeractionguy.blogspot.com . So long everybody, its been fun.

The long way home

Well, my friends, its been six months since I set out on this little journey of mine. I arrived in Kabul with no understanding of Afghanistan, but in love with the placel almost from the start. I think that my knowledge of this place has probably grown immensely, even though I still feel a great sense of ignorance. How can you come to know a country, anyways? Certainly, you must live there. We don't really live in Afghanistan, as I have said before we live on it. Our contact with the population at large is limited and infrequent. Our response to the dangers-real or imagined-of this place keep us seperated from most Afghans. Our lack of respect for some aspects of the culture (treatment of women, sharia law) widens the gap. I think that this frustrating sense of supericial involvement in this country might be true in any case, although it is certainly exacerbated by my position here. While I'm on the subject, there is a fundamental question which comes out of this odyssey of mine. Have I done the right thing here? This question cannot be answered by me with any amount of emotional clarity. It hinges on the unknown (unknowable?)answers to a host of other questions. When I think about some of the things which I have done here I feel a visceral sense of accomplishment, but self-interested achievement might not justify my position. I have a collection of photographs from this place, most of which I wouldn't comfortably share with my family due to the preponderance of automatic weapons and body armor. Yet, there are people here who want to kill us, which is an excellent reason to prepare to do the same thing if necessary. Who is correct here? Do we, the Americans of this occupation force, have the moral highground in this campaign? Or are we the hedonistic pawns of capitalist neo-imperialism that some would label us? Of course I am neither, and both. I am the young man who feels a sense of justice in the overthrow of the Taliban and the upcoming inaugeration of Afghanistan's first (mostly) democratically elected president. I am also a "hired gun" if you will, with the minor distinction that I am being paid for my ability to communicate, not my ability to kill people. I guess the question is, 'By what scale are these actions measured?' or more plainly, 'What perspective is the correct one?' The academic in me insists that there is a correct perspective somwhere, the soldier in me thinks the academic needs to step outside his Ivory Tower and see what it looks like on the ground. There is no satisfactory answer. I think I knew that when I signed up for this.

Opinion

I think you would all benefit from reading this. Paul's blog, Adventurestan, has hit some really good points int the past six months, and proves that there are at least two former Marine Non-coms capable of forming a cogent argument.

You'd have to see it

Try to imagine the following picture. Forty some-odd Americans packed into a wooden shack which has been turned into a bar. In the midst of cigarette smoke a group of optimists try to continue a game of darts which started before the swelling of the crowd. Around the room, there are retired policemen engaged in supposedly serious conversations which compare the quality of law-enforcement in their one-horse towns to that in Afghanistan. Behind the bar, a middle-aged ex-Marine Gunnery Sergeant defends his appreciation for the Boss against the occasionaly vehement protests of those patrons who consider Bruce Springsteen a traitor for speaking out against the war. In a corner, a young man desperately tries to woo one of the two women in the room, not out of real attraction so much as loneliness and desperation. In the backround, two Afghan Generals bum smokes and talk haltingly with the assistance of interpreters. One drinks a beer, though he is Muslim and this is Ramadan. There is a tension between the two main groups of this demographic. Some are ex-soldiers, who found their way here because of boredom and a desire to be in "the shit" one more time. Others are ex-cops who didn't want to live on their pensions. There are several small groups, each putting forth its own emotional vibration which can be seen and felt at a distance. One is anxious, serious. Another is gregarious. There is, among everyone, the sense of holding the outside world at bay for one more hour. In this respect it is no different from any bar I've ever entered. The walls hold in and protect a semblance of life at home. Your's truly stands at the end of the bar, listening to the conversations around him. Today in Kabul, three UN employees were kidnapped in broad daylight. None of us expect them to live.

The elections have come and gone in Kabul. I think most of you saw something about it on the news, probably in relation to the type of ink used to mark those who've voted. Everyone seems to be calling this a successful experiment in enforced democracy. Its a little more complex than people are letting on, the incidents of interference somewhat more widespread and violent than one might gather from CNN. People are starting to speak about the rule of law and its progress here. Eighty percent of all the heroin in the world comes from Afghan poppy, even though it is illegal to cultivate it. Several of the major candidates for president and many members of regional government are directly involved in the manufacture and transportation of opium. Some regional governors have private armies with helicopter gunships, tanks, and thousands of soldiers. The democratic process must go forward here. The fact that the constitution its based on Sharia law frankly scares me, but at least it reflects public opinion. I'm enough of a chauvinist to believe that popular consent is a necessary foundation for just government. But I don't think anyone will say that the rule of law has superseded the rule of the gun just because the elections have been carried out without massive, widespread violence. Voting is one thing, but there are many changes which will have to be made here if the central government is to assert its authority over the whole country. If effective government requires the monopolization of force and the means of projecting it, then the government in Kabul is still ineffective. But they are trying, and I think thats what really matters this year. This country is still in the hands of regional warlords. The U.S. government is proceeding with a damaging and ineffectual program to halt poppy production. The L.A. Times publishes articles which make an unfavorable comparison between U.S. Contractors in Kabul (your's truly) to the Russians. These are all things which stand in the way of progress here, but it is still being made. One day, given enough effort and attention, the rule of law will be established here.

Lost Photographs

I think that much of my experience here in Afghanistan will consist of lost photographs. I don't mean the ones I've taken, those can be seen here. I'm talking about all of those moments which could have been a perfect National Geographic picture, if only I'd been able to stop. If only I'd been able to get out of the truck as the image flew by. Like the girl standing on a mud wall, the desert contrasting with her purple dress and too-old eyes. Or the camel standing on the side of a hill doing a passable impression of an oak tree. The village nestled in a canyon with desert all around, but full of trees and water, looking much the same as it must have one thousand years ago. The narrow dirt trail, almost impassable for our trucks, with the musky scent of cannabis coming from acres and acres of fields on either side. The little kids waving-little kids always wave-while their more circumspect fathers and older brothers regard us cautiously, but not with real hostility. Beautiful young girls who will soon disappear into chadderi. The curious detritus of old wars, crumbling mud castles next to burned out T-55 tanks and BRDMs. Tunnels that the Germans dug in their precise, inexorable fashion through the Hindu Kush. There are many more, of course, but these are the ones I remember. The thing about this country is that we can be driving through absolute desolation, and then within a kilometer the most incredible scenes unfold in front of us. At the end of the day we return to what passes for civilization out here, and I almost wish I were still out there, camera in hand.

Kabul is just like any other city, only more so.....

Kabul is missing certain things which one would expect from a modern city. The restaurant scene is still in its infancy. The fact that many of the restaurants double as brothels does noting to improve the level of cuisine. However, progress is being made on this front. Of course we can't leave the compound after six, and this has seriously hindered my best efforts to become an authority on Kabul-gastronomique. I've been told that there is a soccer team, but there are no soccer hooligans vis a vis Manchester United. Which reminds me, Manchester aint doing so well this year. Of course, the prohibitions against alcohol and public drunkenness severely limit the possibilities for sporting enthusiasm. There is an active nightlife, which I see occasionally out the window of my landcruiser. However, most of the nightlife in the states is centered around courtship. Afghans have a ways to go before women will be allowed to go out to clubs at night for the purpose of picking up guys. I leave it to others to argue the relative merits of scantily clad, assertive women running around all night trying to get laid. Ok, enough exposition, I'll leave you with two things.

First, I want to hear from all of you on the following subject: What makes for a worthwhile occupation? A note of caution, any responses that sound remotely like "Whatever makes you happy" will be dealt with severely. Beatings are not out of the question. Nikita, don't even think of using this as an expedient for getting me back stateside. Secondly, if any of you need a really cool radio station, check out livestream from this Rochester, NY college station. Livestream radio is better than sliced bread.