On This Fourth of July in Kabul
From an officer in the AOR (Area of Operations):
Happy Fourth of July and Salam Alakum from Downtown Kabul in the "Green Zone." As I type this now, Gen Petraeus is taking command of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) not 50 feet away. The area in front of the HQ ISAF building is so small that most of us are watching it on television from the Italian Cafe gardens across the street. Those who have been here on the HQ ISAF compound will know exactly where I'm sitting now. All things being equal, in my opinion, this is a proud moment for civil-military relations in the United States. My hope is we, as a nation, will continue to see this through in Afghanistan, stay committed to success, that is. I'm confident Gen Petraeus will lead from the front as Gen McChrystal did before him.
I finished the COIN [Counter-insurgency] Leaders Course at Camp Julien a few days ago and a senior ISAF general spoke with us in a refreshingly frank way. Here’s a few of his notable quotes:
- "We don't need to teach the Afghans about war. We need to teach them about peace."
- With regard to President Obama's July 2011 deadline: "We don't have much time to do anything."
- With regard to the Gen McChrystal-Gen Petraeus swap: "There's a silver lining. It puts a spotlight on this war. It forces us to answer the question, 'Is what we're doing right?'"
All good points to ponder.
Random obsevations ... 3rd world, poverty, ‘controlled’ chaos, fresh fruit & vegetable stands everywhere (Did you know there’s a cross between a watermelon and a cantaloupe? Who knew?), stray dogs & cats everywhere, open sewage pouring from buildings, garbage piles being shoveled into trucks by garbage collectors for disposal removal, children everywhere giving our armored RV convoy "thumbs up," enormous, spine-jolting potholes, traffic circles where traffic doesn't move for 5 minutes, no driving rules whatsoever, road construction, security checkpoints in front of all compounds, office buildings, major businesses and construction companies, horse-drawn carts of flowers, cotton, bricks and driftwood, goats and sheep crossing the road randomly with no visible shepherd, sheep grazing in the Kabul River illustrating it’s not deep at all. There was an air freshener salesman in the middle of traffic?
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May '10
Re: On This Fourth of July in Kabul
Peter Robinson: From an officer in the AOR (Area of Operations):
The magic of markets. An obvious need, a supplier springs up. Cut back the corruption and miracles can occur.
Jun '10
Re: On This Fourth of July in Kabul
Duane Oyen
Peter Robinson: From an officer in the AOR (Area of Operations):
The magic of markets. An obvious need, a supplier springs up. Cut back the corruption and miracles can occur. · Jul 4 at 12:23pm
Yes, Duane, as I like to point out to my liberal friends, capitalism is voluntary, spontaneous, and in its own way completely organic.
Re: On This Fourth of July in Kabul
"... spoke with us in a refreshingly frank way ..."
It's what we all crave, isn't it? If only all our leaders could respect us in this way. It's why I, and many others, love NJ's Chris Christie. Who knows if he's ready for a bigger office, but we just starve for people to Tell. It. Like. It. Is.