You deserve a falafel break today

Our correspondent reports that falafel sandwich shops are everywhere. The other day he and a patrol of 30 soldiers walked past one, and it being lunch time, and their MRE-jaded palats yearning for something exotic, decided to spread some foreign economic assistance around. They placed an order for 30 sandwiches-- the sandwiches consist of 3-4 little fried bean meal balls with onions, tomato, parsley and secret sauce in a pita pocket-- the Big Mac of Iraq. The shop owner was delighted.

As reported here before, soldiers regularly spend money in shops buying drinks, sandwiches, sweets, etc. as a practical matter and to promote good international relations. Our correspondent has never gotten sick from this road food, and reports the shops are quite health conscious, with the preparers wearing latex gloves when handling the food. Maybe the local chamber of commerce runs classes in how to appeal to soldiers.

Sometimes the order is so large that the owners have to slip out the back to buy supplies at the corner grocer. But the troops are patient and grateful for the rest. It would be impolite to complain or leave because of having to wait a few minutes longer.

A visit from the media

Our correspondent was out and about with his squad on patrol one day last week, when a convoy pulled aside them, and civilians poured out along with a Colonel. TV cameras abounded. A network news reporter (female) was visiting and doing a story about the situation, and our correspondent's patrol happened to be one of the few out, so they were picked. There was a flurry of activity, and our correspondent was amazed how many people were required to take a few shots. Not cottoning much to such goings on, he hung back bemused until the media circus moved along and let him get back to work. Unfortunately he did not have his camera along. Maybe next time.

Iraq and $$$$$$$$$$$$

Our correspondent telephoned Saturday. Indeed, there were troubles at his base. A recent blog entry from a journalist embedded at the base said one soldier had been killed and 24 rockets hit the base. Our correspondent expressed surprise that so many rockets had hit. Didn’t seem like it at the time. You never know for sure, but it’s amazing how little gets into the mainstream media.

Meanwhile his work continues as he travels outside the wire every day. It’s not terribly interesting because most of the time is spent waiting for the Iraqi police or army to decide to do something. It gives pause to wonder why so many troops will be needed over the next 12 months. The Iraqi police/military are happy the U.S. troops remain, but probably because the U.S. military is so generous with funds. Brand new Ford and Chevy pickups are sprouting like crocuses in the spring. Iraqi chop shops weld machine gun mounts to the bed and they become the poor man’s Bradley fighting vehicle. In true U.S. fashion, they even argue about which is best, Chevy or Ford. The consensus seems to be Chevy. “Ford no good,” he hears a lot. Poor Ford.

Our correspondent feels that if U.S. troops are sent home, but the money keeps flowing, the peace process would accelerate, save the U.S. billions and lower casualties and violence on all sides. Sounds like this should be a new pillar of our foreign policy. Send money, not troops. This is how Saudi Arabia and other Middle East oil barons work, and they’ve managed to tie the U.S. into a pretzel knot in both Afghanistan and Iraq for a miniscule fraction of the U.S. military costs in both of these ventures.

What happens when the U.S. military leaves Iraq?

Our correspondent's wife sent this thoughtful article that digs deeper than what you'll find in most mainstream media.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61096

Worry

Our correspondent has not been in touch much recently. From incomplete news media reports, we know there have been assaults in his area. When there are assaults, standard procedure at military bases is to shut down all non-essential communications, which means no phone calls or Internet access. This prevents the news media/families/others from receiving thousands of bits of very possibly incorrect information from personnel who speak from hearsay, gossip, emotion, etc. Sometimes the shut down lasts several days while the facts are sorted out and then distributed. No news is the best news.

So we wait, and....

Explosives in the backpack

Our correspondent's dear wife relayed this story from him. While on a recent mission our correspondent's squad received a call from the Iraqi police that they had discovered a team of criminals burying an IED in the street. They disrupted the vile deed, and chased the perps. Meanwhile, guards were left to keep people away from the IED, and they asked for assistance to remove the explosive device. Our correspondent, having spent a year as a combat engineer and safely blown up many an IED and other ordnance, took a look at the thing and determined that pasting a little hunk of C4 plastique explosive and detonating it would eliminate it nicely. That is the safest thing to do with an unpredictable IED.

Unfortunately, not in the engineers anymore, our correspondent no longer carried hunks of C4 in his backpack. So, they called in demolition specialists who arrived with a full team and a robot. The robot carried and set the C4 on the IED. Everyone took cover, and it was safely blown up. Our correspondent's squad members, not having been that close to a real explosion before were mightily impressed with the power. To our correspondent, it was kind of piddling, but he went along with the spirit of the moment and acted impressed too.

He made a mental note to contact higher ups about permission to carry a hunk of C4 in his backpack, for just such situations. Why bring in a whole squad with robots, and take up hours of so many people's time? He could have taken care of the thing in five minutes. What efficiency!

Sensible as this is, he doubts the higher-ups will buy it. Not such a bad thing for his many friends who would have one less thing to worry about.

The Iraqi and the chair

Our correspondent phoned from Iraq this week to let us know things are going well for him, despite recent heart-breaking news. We had been concerned because of the terrible loss of soldiers and Iraqis in the homicidal bombing last week. The victims were in the same large battalion as our correspondent, but not personally known by him.

Generally he’s finding Iraq to be a much more peaceful place than when he left it a little more than a year ago. He said the primary troublemakers are not Iraqis, but foreigners whose goal is to destabilize Iraq and thwart progressive democratic initiatives by Iraqis. These insurgents come from other Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran—even though they are not “officially” recognized by those governments. They are well-organized and well-funded, with high-tech military gear and lots of money to bribe the poorest and most gullible Iraqis into committing desperate acts like suicide truck bombings. These funders are the real terrorists, and the root of the problem.

According to our correspondent, Iraqis see these people as a plague unleashed by the American invasion of Iraq—just as many wise Americans warned back in 2003 when George W. Bush was pushed by ill-informed neo-cons like Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Richard Perl, and Paul Wolfowitz to dismantle the Iraqi government and created a fertile field for criminal and totalitarian elements to take root and grow with little resistance—and sometimes inadvertent assistance, as in Guantanamo and Abu Gharib.

Our correspondent works closely with the Iraqi Police and Army providing training and back-up assistance as the Iraqis track down and dismantle the insurgent leadership and infrastructure developed since the invasion. The Iraqis have become a competent force, handling intelligence, planning, and execution of raids against suspected bomb factories, weapons caches, and insurgent foreigners.

In such a role, most Iraqis are happy the U.S. forces remain, for now, but they want full control of their country returned as soon as possible. The forces agreement signed late last year between the U.S. and Iraq stipulates that the U.S. military not work independently of the Iraqis. Therefore, much of our correspondent’s work is done from Iraqi police stations. If no missions are planned on a particular day, the soldiers remain at the station until the Iraqis ask for specific support. Our correspondent is impressed by their bravery in facing violent situations alone.

The missions are usually planned jointly, but the Iraqis carry them out. The U.S. forces hang back, with air support and other options on alert, in case immediate assistance is requested by the Iraqis. His sector is a fairly upscale neighborhood of professionals, teachers, and students living in large, well-taken care of homes with clean streets and parks, so it is generally safer. The insurgents infiltrate the poorest, densely populated neighborhoods, where they can easily hide, threaten, cajole and bribe distressed, angry, and even mentally ill people into planting roadside bombs or performing suicide attacks.

A surprising amount of time is spent drinking tea and munching from trays of sweets provided by the Iraqi hosts, while they discuss situations and strategies at the police station. Our correspondent asks that we think of this cooperative situation, when the news is full of dire events.

When asked if he was getting soft from the tea and sweets, our correspondent reminded me there was still plenty of walking with 80 lb backpacks, both day and night. In downtime at the barracks, he’s been going to the exercise room, where a body-builder buddy gives him free professional-level personal training, and is turning him into an Arnold Schwarzenegger look-alike (painfully, he added).

Much time is spent walking through the community, establishing a presence. Streets are busy, shops are open, and people crowd the sidewalks. The soldiers stop in cafes and restaurants for snacks and drinks. They have a budget to buy stuff in shops, which keeps the shopkeepers happy. They’ll always and chat (through interpreters) with people on the street.

We sent a tiny helmet-mounted video camera to our correspondent who reports he has taken several hours of video during these patrols, and will send a few DVDs soon. He says we’ll enjoy the lively street scenes in this newly relaxing Iraqi culture.

Our correspondent relayed the following example of the improving cultural interaction when he was on foot patrol in a residential neighborhood.

During regular breaks, squad members bend down on one knee, a good, alert resting position (and practically a smaller target). One soldier stationed himself next to an iron gate, and soon an old man opened the gate to peer out at the commotion of a dozen soldiers on his doorstep. His surprised eyes met the kneeling soldier’s at his feet, and he said “Salaam.” The soldier dutifully replied with the proper “Asalaam allaykum.” The old man perused the soldier a moment then went back into the house. He returned with an old plastic chair which he placed on the street and offered to the soldier with a brief comment. The translator yelled out, “He said-- 'As long as you’re relaxing, you should be comfortable.'” The soldier, again mindful of his cultural sensitivity training, didn’t dare refuse, so nodded with thanks, smiled, and sheepishly took the seat. The rest of the squad, still on their knees, stared wide-eyed, barely controlling their laughter. Regrettably, our correspondent's camera was not on at the time.

It’s a relief to hear of the improving conditions in Iraq. Stories like this, which rarely get into the big media, give us hope and a measure of comfort.

News Flash from Mosul- Suicide bomber kills four US troops

As far as we know now, most likely, our correspondent is OK. We haven't had any official news from the military on this as of 6:14 pm EST today (Monday, Feb 9), but reports started coming in on AP, Reuters, CNN, BBC and others today around noon that four U.S. soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter, as well as several civilians were killed when a suicide bomber drove a car into a Humvee riding in a convoy in Mosul, and detonated the explosive, destroying the Humvee.

Naturally we are terribly concerned, but our sources close to command of our correspondent's unit have not been informed of casualties, so the assumption is that they were in a different unit.

The horror of this is huge, no matter what. We will post any news here as soon as we hear anything.

The Washington Post has an article

From our correspondent in Iraq-- a typical day

Our correspondent sent this email describing his typical day. Times are intentionally blocked out. IP means Iraqi Police. You can probably google all other acronyms.

well, lights on was at ****

i kicked off my sleeping bag, put my shower shoes on and grabbed my toiletry bag, my towel and a bottle of water
walked out to the shower trailer, only 20m from our building

air was very chilly in bare feet and PTs, so i hurried over to it

water was nice and piping hot because it was early, and because most everyone is living elsewhere

shaved, and brushed my teeth with the bottled water because i dont trust the water

walked back to my room and changed into ACU's, i noticed they have a tear in them, so i make a mental note to take them over to a "tailoring" place run by a quartermaster company that will repair them

head outside and chat with my buddies joe, nick, and the LT while they have their morning cigarettes

i sling my weapon over my shoulder and we walk over to the chow hall

its cool and crisp, probably in the low fifties, our breath puffs in the air

talk a little about the mission that day, the LT is upset that he didnt get anymore planning time, if we had more time to plan we could split into multiple teams and arrange for air cover, as it is, we'll "keep it simple, stupid" and manuever as one element

we all show our ID's and that our weapons are on "safe" to the chow-hall guards

i wash my hands thouroughly, with lots of soap

chow hall is nice, i think about getting a made-to order omelet, but decide on scrambled eggs, a biscuit, and fruit juice

we head back, its almost **** now, and i make sure my team has started getting the MRAP ready, i remind Burnett to get the rhino warmed up, and Barth that we got some lubricant in, so he should make sure to apply some to the machine-guns bolt today, they say "roger, sergeant"

burnett tells me that the vehicle is ready at around ****, i spot check the vehicle, checking radio frequencies and that there is fresh oil on the 240B, the guys have a couple of battery-powered speakers and are listening to hip-hop and joking around by the trucks

the LT and Ski come out a little after ***** and give us the mission brief, go over the "SIGACTS" (significant actions of the last 24 hours), current "BOLO" (be on the look out) for vehicles and personnel.

**things are expected to heat up before election day**

one of our interpreters is going on vacation for two weeks, so we take a few minutes to strap his suitcases in the trucks, (we strive to have nothing loose in the trucks, in case of a rollover or IED strike)

we all pile in the vehicles and perform final radio checks and head out

we drive out the gate and take turns firing the heavy machine guns into the test fire pit, i smile as our 240B chatters happily with its fresh lubrication. a few small iraqi boys scramble to scoop up the brass from the expended catrigdes

we drive north, then turn east and drive over the river, there are several bridges, and already lots of traffic, IP's guard every intersection and whistle shrilly to clear traffic out of our way

its a 20-minute drive to a checkpoint outside the city, where we drop off the interpreter "Freddy," on the way i chat with him and find out that he was an infantry sergeant and fought against Iran in Saddam's army. he says if we get him an AK, he can help us on raids "no problem" also, his son is getting surgery...his medical english isnt so great, so i dont understand what the problem is, but that the doctors dont anticipate any problems, he gives me an extra cell-phone number that we can call in a few weeks to make sure he doesnt need a few more days

when we reach the checkpoint, we pull off the road, and one of our vehicles runs over a piece of scrap metal and its tire bursts, so after Freddy is dropped off we call up HQ and let them know that we'll be coming back in to get our tire changed

we pull in, drive over to the maintenance pad, and the mechanics jack-up and swap the tire out, probably relieved to have a simple job to work on

we head out, test fire again, and drive over to ERB-* (emergeny response battalion-*) a militarized group of IP that are supplemented by a team of IA special operations troopers

their job is primarily counter-insurgency, as opposed to the criminal-investigation of the regular IP

they have a set of shiny new pick-up trucks, with pintle mounts for russian machine guns mounted in the beds

our LT links up with the IP and goes over a "map recon" with the IP officers, making a plan to quickly surround a suspected rocket-launch site when we get the call

our soldiers take turns taking pictures of each other holding an RPG.. and we settle in for a nice 6-hour wait.

we watch wedding convoys circle the traffic circle

drink cups of insanely sweet chai (here, strong black tea)...

open up MREs for some stray dogs.... nap and relax

at **** we get the word that radar detected a series of rockets fired from well outside the city, on the plus side, they fail spectacularly, apparently spiraling off randomly

we shake hands with the IP, congratulate each other on a job well done, mount up and head back in

we clear our weapons, everyone making sure that someone else inspects their weapons firing chambers

drive over to the fuel point and fill up

its getting dark, Clark greets us, he stayed behind today and got our final humvee up and running, distributed mail, and built a living area for the new guy

i eagerly tear open my amazon package, (a gift from a random Soapbox reader in England), then, a little guiltily, for not checking on it first, spot check my vehicle, making sure gear is properly stowed and electronics are shut down correctly

i run and drop off some laundry at the laundry facility, run by filipinos

then meet up with the other NCOs and head to the chow hall, tonight is mexican food, i pick up enchiladas, rice, refried beans, and a salad

outside, nick brings me a milkshake because I got one for him the other night

Nick and I walk over to a pirate-dvd store and talk in funny english accents while discussing the merits of the various dvds

i chuckle over a "matt demon" collection

Nick selects a "future weapons, complete 4 seasons" for $15, and i head over to the mwr, hoping that the internet is working.

Dispatch from Iraq- opening doors

In Kuwait, there is a training site where soldiers learn how to open doors. Since much of their work involves acting on tips from locals regarding buildings where militants may be hiding weapons caches, bomb factories, or themselves, the soldiers need to learn this. They use various methods to open doors. Sometimes a simple knock will do, but sometimes the information is so urgent that bursting through a door is best.

The training site features a long masonry wall with multiple doorways hung with doors of different materials, strengths and styles. The soldiers go from door to door opening them with either a crowbar, maybe a shotgun blast, or an explosive charge that blows the door off its hinges.

At the end of the row, the soldiers take a break while a local contractor and crew cleans up the mess. They jump down from their truck which is piled high with new doors, and make quick work of hanging and locking them for the next go around. They do this all day long, but hey, it's work.

Sick in Iraq - Dispatch from our correspondent

Unfortunately, I am sick again, and much worse this time. Had to go get the medics up last night to get some help. Feeling better this morning, but after I send off this email I'm going to crawl back into my cot and try to sleep this off.

The problem is that our battalion and the battalion that we are replacing are both here at the same time, so we're crammed into every little space imaginable. Living so close together is making sure everyone gets sick. Also, there's so many people, that there is seldom any hot water, so people aren't terribly clean and/or spend time very cold and wet every day.

We won't start patrols for a while, I'll let you know when we do. Our sector is one of the quieter ones, but is also very diverse. It includes a forest ( yes, a forest in Iraq!), a university,(oh boy...politically active young people with knowledge of chemistry and electronics), some ancient ruins (still respected to this day, although they occupy an area of good real-estate in the city they are only used as sheep and goat grazing grounds, even the insurgents seem to respect the area as out-of-bounds), and several city neighborhoods.

Oh, also a lovely section of a local river that has been known, for as long as the locals can remember, as "Shit Creek"....sounds picturesque. I'm not making that up about the creek, the intelligence officer said they've tried to get a different name for it from the locals so that the intelligence sergeants didn't get to say things like "the target is up Shit Creek" in their briefings...but no luck.

Dispatch from Kuwait-- Of Camels and Guns and MREs

From our diligent correspondent in Kuwait waiting to enter Iraq comes this story:

There are numerous training facilities in Kuwait, the initial staging area for many American troops who spend some time there acclimating themselves to the desert environment. The soldiers regularly train to keep in shape and maybe learn some helpful tips. In one exercise, the unit was bussed to an artillery range deep in the desert. The view was rolling sand dunes for 360 degrees.

Before practice firings could begin in earnest, a gun misfired. No one was hurt, but it required an expert investigation, which took several hours. Safely certified, they were ready to fire the first shots when a herd of camels appeared on the horizon, necessitating another stand-down. Firing range personnel dispatched a fleet of Humvees to hurry the beasts along. But camels it seems have little fear of puny humans or their machines, and it looked like a lunch break made sense while the round-up proceeded.

The soldiers hunkered down opening their MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) pouches, but were interrupted by a group of the dispersed camels who had developed a taste for MREs. Hopelessly addicted to meatloaf and gravy dinners, they began snatching MREs right out of the soldiers' hands. Again, camels have little fear of humans, whom they outsize 5 to 1, and whose teeth can cut a NY strip-sized hunk from an arm. The day promised to be quite long-- and was. The army does not cancel training.

Our correspondent has been asking me for a helmet camera, and with material like this, it's a good possibility. Stay tuned.

Innocent bystanders killed by Mosul car bomb

More...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-11-27-mosul-bomb_N.htm?csp=34

India

In all the coverage I've watched about the attacks on Mumbai, the most thought-provoking was that when patrons fled through the Taj hotel kitchen, they were pursued by the attackers, who shot and killed kitchen workers on their way through.

In another report, of the 101 reported killed, only six were foreigners-- who were supposedly the targets. How many maids, cooks, bellhops, children etc. have been killed?

This morning, a bomb exploded near the U.S.embassy in Kabul killing four Afghan civilians and injuring dozens of others.

So, the greatest victims of these sorts of attacks are invariably the poorest and most innocent, and the perpetrators are the most ignorant, gullible, psychotic specimens of humanity imaginable. Take care Evan.

Meeting the Invisibles

I started teaching adult ESL classes at a local community college a few weeks ago. The biggest surprise was the diversity of the students—not so much because it was an ethnically diverse classroom, which it is, but diverse in the kinds of people I normally interact with. My students are the people who are usually invisible in my world. They clean houses and businesses at night. They decorate donuts. They landscape, build decks, lay tile, paint, or flip burgers. Some work in Wal-mart or stock grocery shelves—and they’re not bright faced teens working to pay car insurance.

Being in a college town, I tend to hang out with white anglo-saxon college-educated people. They are teachers, doctors, writers, high-level government workers, bankers, insurance agents, filmmakers, web designers. Those are the jobs you expect to hear about at local party chit-chat. Now that I spend a few hours a day away from this group, I see what a cultural bubble it is.

Though there was initial wonder at the “strange” professions of the students, they are engaging people, and the mysteries of fast-food prep, house cleaning, and immigration are just as interesting as any of my regular friends’ occupational stories—- probably, more so, given their adventure of leaving home country and family to make it on the mean streets of the USA. They are bona-fide risk takers. What they’ve done and why; their hopes and dreams are pretty compelling; their lives full of dangers unknown by me and most of my suburban friends.

You don’t think of that when you brush by the maid in the hotel corridor, or the painting crew having lunch on somebody's lawn. You don’t think about that when working late at the office, and a guy walks by pushing a vacuum.

These people are not invisible to me now. I make an effort to say hello. Talk about the weather or something and recognize their existence as more than a piece of furniture without much effect on the world.

A Life of Luxury

I stayed at a 4 Diamond hotel for a few days last week, and it was nice, but excessive to the point of discomfort. My travels in the past year have led me to a number of similar big name luxury spots, mostly at Hotwire.com rates where $300/night rooms were discounted to $60-- not much more than the smelly Comfort Inn with the grinding AC under the window.

I've found that the more expensive the room's rack rate (usually $250-350), the more the hotel nickels and dimes its customers; like charging $10 a day for Internet, $6.50 for the bottle of European water in the room, a laughable $3.50 for a 50 cent snickers from the mini-bar, $25 for a room service continental breakfast, $15 for a movie, and a paltry list of cable channels.

I'd rather stay in a Holiday Inn, where Internet, parking,bottle of Dasani, and HBO are all free, and a decent hot breakfast buffet is $10.

Help bloggers in Afghanistan

http://afghanpenlog-en.blogspot.com/2008/02/first-afghan-penlog-blogging-workshop.html

You can make a donation to this group that is doing important work promoting free speech in Afghanistan.

Young Afghan journalist sentenced to death for discussing the Koran

Note: I just received this sobering message...

"A bad news from Parwiz's brother.

Kamran Mir Hazar
Exiled Poet, Writer, Journalist and Web Master
Email: kamran_mirhazar@yahoo.com & Editor@kabulpress.org
Web: www.kabulpress.org & www.rahapen.org


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: yaqub ibrahimi
To: kamran Mir Hazar
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 6:16:50 PM
Subject: Parwez is sentenced to execution
Dear Kaamraan jaan, the fucking balkh primery court without inform anyone sentenced Parwez Kaambakhsh to execution,
ibrahimi"


Story
The case of Parwiz Kambakhsh, a reporter for the local newspaper, “Jahan-e Now,” and a student at Balkh University, requires the urgent attention of journalists and activists for freedom of expression. Kambakhs was accused and has been unlawfully detained for three months for possessing an article, which discussed controversial verses of The Holy Quran regarding women’s rights.

We believe that the government of Afghanistan and his Excellency president Karzai has an important responsibility to secure free speech for journalists, especially in the area of religion, like the world’s leading democracies.
We pledge our support for and call on Mr. Karzai to work for the immediate release of Mr. Kambakhsh. He has strong support among those who care about freedom of speech and democracy, and they are distributing the facts of this case world-wide.

Show Your Support
Kabulpress.org asks you to show your support for Parwiz and free speech in Afghanistan by posting a comment below. Your comments will be automatically esending an e-mail to Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, his spokesperson. Include your name, occupation, country of residence, and a comment asking for the release of Parwiz Kambakhsh.

E-mail your support to president@afghanistangov.org and spokesperson@afghanistangov.org.

A million dollars embezzled from Kabul hospital construction project?

1,000,000 USD is unaccounted for in UN, Intersos, Ahyaye Mojadad Char Dehi (an Afghan construction company) joint humanitarian aid effort

Note: Afghan journalist in exile, Kamran mir Hazar, prepared this report, including evidence, two years ago when he was head of the News Department at Kabul’s Radio Kleed. Unfortunately, the Attorney General’s Office of Afghanistan has not acted to arrest or question the accused people, even after being contacted repeatedly and provided with documents and other evidence.

This report indicates the level of difficulty working in a developing country. Much of the U.S. leadership contends that infrastructure cannot proceed without a military "victory," however, as this article reveals, often the greater enemies of advancement are large bureaucracies with dishonest or lax oversight that cost millions of dollars and sow great mistrust for authority. This is one small example.

Mr. Gary K. Helseth, former General Director of the 600 million USD-a-year United Nations Office of Project Services-Afghanistan(UNOPS) who had worked in Afghanistan for over 20 years, left the country two months after this report was first published. His U.N. e-mail addresses are not functional, and so far, we have been unable to contact him for additional information.

The Project
In 2002, the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan asked UNOPS to add 50 more beds to the 52 bed Khairkhana Hospital. UNOPS accepted the project. The Italian Government Foreign Office then committed funding up to 2,200,000 USD for the project.

After the funds were delivered to UNOPS- Afghanistan, they were released to the global Italian aid organization, Intersos-- less 270,000 USD of the original amount, which apparently was taken by UNOPS for internal expenses. Intersos is a corporation operating as an NGO in Afghanistan and has an office in Shahr-e-Now, Kabul. It was organized primarily by the Italian Trade Union Confederation in 1992, and its current annual budget is approximately 30,000,000 USD.

Afghan Government Investigation
Intersos oversaw the project, but what was the result, and how much of the 2,200,000 USD was actually spent on the project? Mr. Samadi, Director of Criminal Investigation Department of Attorney General Office responds:

The Intersos Corporation did not work on the project but signed a contract with another Afghan Corporation, Ahyaye Mojadad Char Dehi, led by Engineer Amin for 920,000 USD. Where did the balance of 1,010,000 USD go?

Mr. Samadi adds, "we asked the hospital personnel and the employees of the Afghan Corporation who worked on the project with the Intersos organization, and eventually found that Ahyaye Mojadad Char Dehi had some secret arrangements with Intersos. Based on our evaluation and inventory, they did not spend more than 250,000 to 300,000 USD on the project."

The Attorney General’s Office claims that they have concrete evidence and documents regarding the project. They are looking for Engineer Amin who they suspect may have embezzled some funds, but he cannot be found. Mr. Samadi says that Engineer Amin once phoned the Attorney General’s Office and threatened them, if they investigated this case.

Mr. Samadi, further stated that Intersos allocated 80,000 USD for the demolition of just two old rooms at the hospital’s main gate. When I asked why he did not summon and investigate the foreign people involved in the project, he answered:

“The Legal and Consulting Board of the Office of President sent us a letter in which it indicated that it is within our jurisdiction to make a claim against Intersos in an Afghan court. We then contacted the Italian Embassy and said that if they refused to assist us with this case, we would take it to the World Court in The Hague through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN. This is too large an amount of money for poor Afghanistan to just let go missing, and possibly embezzled.”


No Prosecution
The question remains: Do the foreign people involved in this project deserve political immunity from prosecution? It is clear that the Attorney General can prosecute foreigners based on domestic laws. Only Ambassadors, Diplomats and C and D grade foreign officials of the UN have political immunity, so all of the Intersos people involved in this project may be legally prosecuted.

While the Attorney General’s office did not know Intersos’ Kabul address, I found it in Shar-e -Now (New City) Kabul. I visited the office and found a Mr. Marco Rotelli, who did not answer my simple questions but referred me to UNOPS. I tried to contact the responsible persons at UNOPS in Afghanistan. Eventually, I made an appointment with the spokesperson and the Director of UNFPA, Mr. Gary K. Helseth.

Interview with Gary K. Helseth
Mr. Helseth firmly rejected the possibility for any kind of embezzlement in this project. He said that the project was very successful and they were satisfied with its completion. He added that they had employed an Afghan Engineer and a foreign engineer for this project and all the contracts had been already signed in New York.

Regarding the amount of 2,200,000 USD, he said that Intersos Corporation received 2,000,000 for the project, and 200,000 USD was spent on travel expenses and salaries of experts and employees. He added that the Intersos Corporation had been introduced to UNOPS by the Italian Government.

When I asked Mr. Helseth why Intersos did not do the project itself but instead signed a contract with Ahyaye Mojadad Char Dehi, he answered, "It is not true!" He added that Intersos signed a contract with a different corporation, and the money was spent by that corporation. He said they have documents that show this project was completed properly.

Regarding the term of the warranty for the completed building, Mr. Helseth said that theproject was guaranteed for one year . “A few years ago we could not guarantee a project for a year. Most projects in Afghanistan are guaranteed for just three or four months.” He agreed that the amount of 80,000 USD was too much for the demolition of two old rooms in the hospital and said he would check the documents.

"Mr. Helseth, please count and check this project penny by penny and kindly give me the documents to see when ready," I said and he agreed to do so.

A few days later, I received a call from Mr. Helseth. He happily said he had some ten kilos of documents on the project showing that it had been completed successfully, and added I could pick them up at his office. When I arrived, he was photocopying them, and we agreed that he would send them to my office in Radio Kaleed.

After they arrived, I sought out several experts to review these documents.

Experts Disagree With UNOPS Accounting
The experts who accepted my request did want me to reveal their names. One of them still works with the USAID and has completed many projects with that organization. He determined that the total cost of this project was 646,900 USD. Compared to the budget of 2,200,000USD, this leaves about 1,550,100 USD is unaccounted for. This expert emphasized that the budget was written in 2002 and current costs were higher.

Another expert who also wished to remain anonymous estimated the project cost to be 776,280 USD, leaving 1,423,720 USD unaccounted for. He explained that for 776,280 USD “we can build a hospital of about 2,587 square meter (20,000 sq. ft.) to a global standard.” This was the size of the Intersos and UNOPS Khairkhana Hospital project. He added that “even if we ignore the real amount spent, the maximum amount shown in the project reports is still 1,035,000 USD which shows the possibility of embezzlement of more than 1,000,000 USD on this single project.”

Now we should ask Mr. Gary Helseth, former Director of UNOPS in Afghanistan how he defends his organization and Intersos in this project.

Claims of Shoddy Construction at Khairkhana Hospital
While making this report, I went to Khairkhana Hospital and met some of the staff. Asked if the hospital met global standards, Mr. Mohibullah Nejat, the Director, said; "The main problem with the new building is its plumbing system, which was to some extent repaired by the coalition forces about four months ago, and is a bit better now.”

“The building built by Intersos does not have proper ventilation or medical waste systems, which are required for a medical complex. Medical complexes need special engineers, who know about these things,” he added.

Unfortunately when carefully evaluating other completed projects in Afghanistan, we discover even greater numbers of possible embezzlement. It is the responsibility of the government to oversee the operations of the NGOs and corporations. The Attorney General’s Office also has a legal duty and responsibility to prosecute the people who steal from society.

Do Americans understand insurgencies?

The New York Times today had a list of the presidential candidates’ stands on various relevant topics. Of course, Iraq was near the top of the list. It was disappointing to see that the the Times only mentioned troop removal as the solution to Iraq’s problems. A more comprehensive plan that included an intensive re-building of infrastructure: education, sanitation, energy, health, transportation, and a judicial system would be more productive than just getting the troops home as soon as possible. And though this sentiment is on every Democratic candidate’s website, it was completely neglected in the Times article. Perhaps it is too complex an issue for Times readers to grasp?

The multiple failures following the West’s support of a mujahedeen insurgency against the USSR invasion of Afghanistan should be an enduring lesson that you can’t simply arm factions, then walk away to let them fight it out. There are good alternatives to a military occupation that can build an enduring peace. Afghans would not follow the Talibs one single step, if their basic human needs were being met by the Western coalition.

Even the U.S. military is taking this position more and more, but American politicians and media pander to the uninformed majority that see either “winning the war” or “getting out of the war” as the only solutions. Both are absurd: it is impossible to win or to ignore a war of insurgency. I would love to hear just one politician say “every soldier who leaves Iraq will be replaced by a doctor, lawyer, engineer, carpenter, mechanic, accountant, etc. etc. etc. and have the media repeat it.

Sadly, that goes against the grain of so much of American culture which says that winning only comes through force and submission. That may have been true in the pre-Internet, jet-plane, satellite, nuclear age, but we face a new paradigm where crazed men with a few sticks of dynamite become “Armies of One” (to borrow a U.S. Army recruiting slogan) with more power than a division of thousands—or a Humvee with a few unlucky soldiers. Hopefully our leaders will explore more solutions than running away or sacrificing its best for an impossible “victory.” Hopefully the media will support this, and not promote simplistic solutions.