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.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Merry Christmas message from an Afghan exile to American troops in Afghanistan

A message received from our friend Amin Wahidi, a writer and educational TV producer from Afghanistan, who now lives in a refugee shelter in Italy, waiting for a judgment on his request for political asylum there. Amin fled Afghanistan last fall after receiving death threats from the Taliban, because he produced programs on English instruction, film history, and music instruction. He is an outspoken supporter of freedom of speech and religion, democracy, peace and social justice.

Merry Christmas – Buon Natale

Eid ul Addha ( The Feast of Sacrifice) one of the biggest feasts for the Muslims came and passed while I am apart from my family, home, friends and I felt how difficult it is to be far from family and miss them on such an important occasion.

When I couldn't say happy eid to my family and friends face to face, now I would like to take the chance of saying merry Christmas to those people from foreign lands who serve in my country and are far from their families at Christmas and the new year occasion.

Merry Christmas to you all, who are reading my blog right now.

And merry Christmas to you who is now far from his home, family and relatives but serving for peace, rebuilding and democracy in my country Afghanistan though missing your dearest ones back in your country in this important occasion, now being far from home, I can feel you very well.

Merry Christmas to you all, who serve in the cold, mountainous and snowy central highlands of my country to keep peace and security for my people, al though you miss your family, country and friends in this occasions that only comes once a year.

Merry Christmas to you all who serve in the windy, dusty and dangerous deserts of Helmand and other south western provinces of my country to keep peace for my people although any moment could be of death or life for you.

Merry Christmas to you all who serve and patrol in the streets of Kabul, where any moment you could expect a bomb blast and could lose your life for peace, freedom and democracy for my people.

And merry Christmas to all civilian and military who serve for peace, security, freedom and democracy in different corners of Afghanistan.

May God bless you all and you will begin the new year with hopes and full of peace, security, happiness for you and for the people of Afghanistan.


Mohammad Amin Wahidi
Exiled writer, journalist and filmmaker from Afghanistan
www.aminwahidi.blogspot.com

Documentary film, "No End In Sight"

We just saw this riveting and detailed documentary about how the Iraq invasion was planned by those in charge of our loved ones in the military. Long interviews with key insider players are included. Ebert & Roeper gave it "two very big thumbs up"; Time magazine said it is "the most important movie you are likely to see this year." It won the special jury documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Both Blockbuster and Netflix have it. Check it out and tell your friends who are curious about how the past 4 years in Iraq happened.

Blogger story about Afghan filmmaker friend in exile

I met Wahidi in Kabul, and we're helping him get his work out to the world. He is currently living in a refugee camp in Milan Italy, waiting for a hearing on his request for political asylum. Read the story here by Christopher Allbritton, a respected journalist who specializes in Middle East issues.

The Real Iraq We Knew-- A view from 12 former Army Captains

This is an interesting Washington Post article about how soldiers on the ground feel about what they're doing in Iraq. Finally the mainstream media is questioning the government's management of the war and a realistic view of the future.

Read the article here.

Car Bomb

Evan phoned yesterday from Iraq, a rare occurrence, because he usually calls on the weekend. His work schedule, as always is unpredictable. It had been an easy, but boring day because his unit had been on the emergency response duty. He was upset because the day before, a car bomber wiped out a checkpoint run by one of the little local militia units that were being trained by Evan’s unit. It wasn’t the exact group his squad worked with, but they were close.

Evan said he felt the huge explosion while in his barracks and knew it was something huge. His squad rushed to the scene, but nothing was left—no car, no guard shack, no barriers, just a big hole in the road. Five young men were killed. It must have been beyond horrible.

The U.S. troops vowed to return right away with materials to build a new checkpoint, and re-double their training efforts. There are ways to avoid bombs at checkpoints, but making a mistake in procedure can be fatal. The Iraqis need that extra important training. It is so sad to see your good work destroyed by nihilists.


Yesterday, The New York Times published an intense article about an extremist jihadi, Samir Khan, who lives right here in Charlotte and runs a jihadi website that includes links to videos of car bomb explosions on the Internet, placed to entertain and attract potential “martyrs”. These videos are cut like music videos and are dedicated to some god, not Allah, for sure. Khan, born in Saudi-Arabia, home of most of the 9/11gang, grew up in the U.S. and lives with his parents in a middle class home in Charlotte. I hope somebody gets hold of him before he gets his wish to become a martyr himself soon.


I’m sure the families of the five young militia men who put their lives on the line to help stop the rampage of criminal gangs in Iraq would like to get hold of Mr. Samir Khan too.

Young Afghan Journalists Receiving Death Threats

Amin Wahidi, 25 year old journalist, filmmaker, and free-speech advocate was recently granted refugee status in Italy after attending the Venice International Film Festival and participating in a Summer School on Cinema and Human Rights at the European Inter-university Center for Human Rights and Democratization. He is currently living in a refugee shelter in Milan, Italy.

Wahidi has spent his whole life in Afghanistan, but after recent numerous death threats has decided to remain in Italy. A series of comments left on Wahidi’s blog from a self-proclaimed Taliban said a suicide bomber would meet Wahidi’s plane when it landed in Kabul. His family recently fled Kabul due to similar threats against them.

Wahidi’s experience is but one example of a widening pattern of violence against young Afghan media workers and journalists. It is part of an alarming relapse back to the days of the Taliban and warlords. Young activists are facing increasing violence and censorship—some from within the U.S. supported Afghan government. They have been threatened, arrested, jailed, kidnapped, had their studios vandalized, and been beaten.

Several young media personalities, including women, have been murdered in the past three years. This year, two have been killed, and they are held up as examples of what will happen to others who attempt to speak out. As a result, many educated, creative media people are fleeing Afghanistan, making it easier for the violent fundamentalists and criminal gangs to have their way.

Though fearing for his safety, Wahidi wants to tell the true story of how Afghanistan is slipping backwards, despite the efforts of many concerned countries and organizations such as NATO, the U.S., and the UN. Like many Afghans, he feels these efforts are insufficient and that Afghanistan is being forgotten by the world once again.

In the short term, Wahidi wants to come to the U.S. to finish his university education, and make films and documentaries about conditions in Afghanistan. He also wants to be a lifeline to colleagues remaining in Afghanistan through the Afghan Academy of Arts and Cinema Education and The Filmmakers Union of Afghanistan. Most important, he wants to return to Afghanistan to work for re-building a democratic, just, and productive society there. His primary interest is to make films on the difficulty of establishing freedom of expression, justice, and human rights in his country.

In early 2005, Wahidi was hired as one of the first writer/producer/director/presenters at the new Ariana Television and Radio Network (ATN), based in Kabul. It was the first independent network to broadcast across Afghanistan, and quickly added coverage via satellite to North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and across South Asia to the Pacific.

Wahidi produced and hosted three concurrent television programs for ATN: a magazine-style news series on world cinema, an English language instructional series, and a cultural history series focusing on music. He also worked in network promotion and was the assistant programmer for a time. After leaving ATN in 2007, he worked in the production and news departments of two other Afghan broadcast networks, Nureen and Farda.

Prior to working in broadcast, Wahidi developed strong English language skills. In 2004 he was a lead translator/interpreter for the U.S. Army’s Office of Military Co-operation for Afghanistan, in Kabul. He has worked for other translation companies, able to conduct simultaneous English/Farsi-Dari interpretations and document translation.

Wahidi’s ethnic background is Hazara, a consistently persecuted Afghan minority. His father, a Hazara activist, has been arrested and threatened for organizing demonstrations and speaking out against mistreatment of not just Hazara, but all Afghans.

After the ouster of the Taliban in 2002, there was hope for Afghanistan. Cinemas re-opened, Independent TV and radio stations went on the air, scores of newspapers and magazines began to publish, art galleries and performance spaces became active, schools opened, and women returned to work in media, education, healthcare, and government. The country which had endured 30 years of brutal occupation and civil war began to breathe again, a situation especially welcomed by a young generation eager to join the modern world. Now these gains are losing ground, and this sad story is almost invisible to the American public.

Any assistance to help Wahidi reach his goals will be greatly appreciated.

See more about Amin Wahidi and subscribe to his blog at www.aminwahidi.blogspot.com

A cow is a lion in Iraq

Evan sent this story through Beth:

Evan's patrol was investigating an area after an explosion and came upon a small barn-- more like a shed. Inside was a cow; a very disturbed cow, and who could blame her? A bomb had just gone off. She became more agitated, as Evan and a buddy looked around to see if any dangerous stuff was hidden under the dirt.

The cow suddenly became aggressive, and the soldiers thought it might be better to retreat a little. A staff sergeant, seeing them back out of the barn shouted,

"Hey you guys, it's a cow, not a lion!"

At that very moment the enraged cow leapt over its pen and charged the staff sergeant. He turned and ran up the outside stairs of a nearby house. The angry cow stood below, trapping the hapless sergeant on the roof.

Fortunately, one of the soldiers had a camera and photographed the standoff. Unfortunately, for the sergeant, they were duplicated back at the base and posted in several obvious places with the caption "It's a cow, not a lion!"

A friend flees Afghanistan

A young writer/producer friend in Afghanistan was invited to the Venice Film Festival last month. Because of escalating death threats against him and his family from Taliban in Afghanistan, he has decided it would be safer to stay in Italy. He is living as a refugee there now, contemplating his next steps.

Please read part of his story sent to me last night. It's a long piece, but an amazing piece of writing:

http://aminwahidi.blogspot.com

The mysterious man in the trunk

An interesting story from Evan a few weeks ago. His unit has a fair to adequate relationship with the local residents of the area he patrols. They are training a small local militia group, mainly in road checkpoint management 101. One day a group of their young trainees ran up breathlessly saying they had a surprise. They led the soldiers to a car and opened the trunk. Inside was one of the more dangerous local trouble-makers, whom they had somehow managed to recognize and capture.

The militiamen were very proud they caught the fellow. They locked him in the trunk, since it was the only way they had to hold him. I wonder if they’ve been given handcuffs yet. It can get mighty hot in a trunk.

The militia are paid a small amount to keep them steadily working, but there is a sliding reward scale if they provide information or capture a wanted criminal. They were especially happy to deliver this guy who had a higher than average price.

This is a much more community-friendly counter-insurgency tactic than Blackwater’s style of doing business, for example.