Christmas In Afghanistan

Troops In Afghanistan Celebrate Christmas In Company Of Each Other -- FOX News

U.S. troops in Afghanistan, away from their families and thousands of miles from home, were celebrating Christmas in their own way Tuesday with carols, candles and the company of each other.

Soldiers from the U.S., France and Germany packed a dining hall at the Kabul International Airport for a traditional Christmas meal. As the turkey was carved, they shared thoughts of their families.

"I wish I could be home with my family and friends, but, I mean, I am surrounded by nothing but awesome people, so it is good," U.S. soldier Vanessa Gann said.

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More News On Celebrating Christmas In Afghanistan

American troops take a break from the frontline to share in the holiday spirit over Christmas Eve dinner in Afghanistan -- Daily Mail
Troops downrange 'go with the flow' but think of home on Christmas -- Stars and Stripes
Troops in Afghanistan Find Cheer With a Yule Logon -- New York Times
A Christmas treat for our troops: 9,000 servicemen and women celebrate the day with turkey and a 5k fun run -- Daily Mail
In Afghanistan, a hard holiday season for U.S. troops -- Delaware Online
British troops in Afghanistan celebrate with turkey lunch -- BBC
Turkey and trimmings flown in for UK troops in Afghanistan -- BBC
Christmas wishes from Alabama's soldiers in Afghanistan -- al.com
With their loved ones in Afghanistan, families soldier on for Christmas -- Nola.com

Arms Purchases Are Soaring In Afghanistan

A coalition force member demonstrates weapons tactics to Afghan national police during weapons training in western Afghanistan's Farah province, Dec. 12, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau

Insight: Afghans Turn To AK-47, Fearing Taliban Return Or Civil War -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Afghan father-of-four Mohammad Nasir has a secret he's been keeping from his family.

The aid worker pulls a television bench out from the living-room wall of his Kabul home. Behind it is a carved out shelf, hiding what he hopes will keep loved ones safe when Western troops withdraw by the end of 2014 -- an AK-47 assault rifle.

Arms purchases are soaring in Afghanistan, along with the price of weapons, a sign that many Afghans fear a return of the Taliban, civil war or rising lawlessness.

An assault rifle cost $400 a year ago. Today, some arms dealers are selling them for triple the price.

And it's not just ordinary Afghans who are buying. Warlords who control militias, and former anti-Soviet mujahideen fighters are also boosting the trade.

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My Comment: Not exactly a vote of confidence in the future.

A Rare Admission From The U.S. Army On Afghanistan

Paris, a coalition force military working dog, shows his gentler side as he interacts with children in a village in Farah province, Afghanistan, Dec. 11, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau

U.S. Army Admits To Widespread Cultural Pedophilia In Afghanistan -- Examiner

"Women are for children, boys are for pleasure."

As recently covered by Examiner.com, the U.S. Army has floated a draft of a new training manual to be utilized for troops in the Afghanistan Theater of Operation.

According to the proposed manual, the reason behind many of the allied Afghan troops/police officers attacking and killing American and British personnel is due to ignorance on our part;

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My Comment: My cousins who served in the Soviet Army during their Afghan war said the same thing to me when they returned .... pedophilia in Afghanistan is accepted behavior. Some of my friends are in the Canadian military (I live in Canada now), and they told me the same thing when they came back from their tour in Afghanistan .... they were shocked to learn that pedophilia in Afghanistan is accepted behavior. Bottom line .... Afghanistan's culture is as foreign to us as ours is to them .... and this is one damn good reason why we should no longer be there.

Where Did The Gold Come From?

An Afghan Mystery: Why Are Large Shipments of Gold Leaving the Country? -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — Packed into hand luggage and tucked into jacket pockets, roughly hewed bars of gold are being flown out of Kabul with increasing regularity, confounding Afghan and American officials who fear money launderers have found a new way to spirit funds from the country.

Most of the gold is being carried on commercial flights destined for Dubai, according to airport security reports and officials. The amounts carried by single couriers are often heavy enough that passengers flying from Kabul to the Persian Gulf emirate would be well advised to heed warnings about the danger of bags falling from overhead compartments. One courier, for instance, carried nearly 60 pounds of gold bars, each about the size of an iPhone, aboard an early morning flight in mid-October, according to an airport security report. The load was worth more than $1.5 million.

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Update: Concerns over growing gold exodus from Afghanistan -- Khaama Press

My Comment: Something does not smell right.

Afghanistan Tied For Most Corrupt Country In The World

Afghanistan's Rock-Bottom Global Corruption Ranking -- Frank Vogl, Huffington Post

The 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published yesterday, finds Afghanistan at absolute rock bottom, sharing this dismal place with North Korea and Somalia. Despite the flow to Afghanistan over the last decade of hundreds of billions of dollars of Western -- mostly American -- economic and military aid, this country is a rotten cesspool of corruption.

There is a brutal message here for the architects of Western geo-political strategy in general and for those most responsible for the Afghan debacle in particular. It is a message that should have been learned in Iraq, which is a country that does only modestly better than Afghanistan in the graft rankings today. Despite all the diverse experiences of decades, the harsh fact is that Western powers have a zero success rate in establishing decent governance in poor countries embroiled in conflict that have no history of democratic institutions.

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My Comment: NATO is voicing their concerns on Afghan corruption .... but this is nothing new .... and I definitely do not expect this Afghan culture of corruption to change.

Can Afghanistan Tackle Corruption?

My Comment: The culture of corruption is so interwoven in Afghanistan that I have zero expectation that it can be tackled in my lifetime. As for the billions that have been sent to Afghanistan .... we in the West must come to the realization that with the exception of educating millions of children (boys and girls) on how to read and write as well as some health/medical programs .... the rest of the money has been spent (on God knows what) or embezzled.

10,000 U.S. Troops To Remain In Afghanistan After 2014

U.S. Army Sgt. William Russell, center, speaks with an Afghan man, left, through a translator during a key leader engagement in Farah City in Afghanistan's western Farah province, Nov. 18, 2012. Russell is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Josh Ives

US Plans To Keep 10,000 Troops In Afghanistan After 2014 -- The Guardian

White House wants small US force to stay on in Afghanistan for training and counter-terrorism against al-Qaida, papers report

The long-term US military presence in Afghanistan is likely to be a "light footprint" of about 10,000 American troops, boosted by a few thousand more soldiers from Nato allies, according to US media reports.

Most foreign combat troops are expected to be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, a deadline agreed by Nato and Kabul a few years ago. The White House favours keeping a small force on the ground for some years after that, although diplomats insist they are not seeking permanent bases. Troops would stay to train the Afghan security forces, which still need help with everything from bomb detection to medical evacuation and fuel supplies, and run counter-terrorism campaigns, particularly along the lawless border with Pakistan.

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My Comment: That is not enough soldiers to train the Afghan military .... nor hold any territory. Some special operations may be conducted, but they will be dependent on Afghan intelligence. So .... why keep such a military level in a war zone? Your guess is as good as mine.

Afghan Interpreters Wait For U.S. Visas

Facing Taliban Threats, Afghan Interpreters Wait For U.S. Visas -- Washington Post

KABUL — Of the more than 5,700 Afghans who have applied for U.S. visas under a special program tailored for those who have supported the American war effort, just 32 have been approved, the State Department says, leaving the rest in limbo as foreign forces begin their withdrawal.

The growing, protracted backlog threatens to undermine congressionally approved legislation, as well as the longstanding guarantee that the United States will protect Afghans whose contribution to the American mission has left them hunted and vulnerable.

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My Comment: All bureaucracies move slowly .... a fact that these Afghans who want to leave are quickly realizing.

What Life Is Like For The Average Afghan In Kabul

A Republic of Macedonia soldier admires the view of Afghanistan's capital city. Kabul City at night. Photobucket

Living In The 'Burbs, Kabul Style: One Million Residents Populate The Steep Hills Around The Afghan Capital... But It's A Long Way From The High Life -- Daily Mail

Wedged between the Hindu Kush mountain range and the river which shares its name, the bustling Afghanistan capital of Kabul is home to more than five million people.

Around 20 per cent, or one million, of those Kabulis live in the vertiginous hills surrounding the city. Perhaps tellingly, the same percentage (23 per cent) of the capital's residents live below the poverty line.

While any other city in the world would put a huge price tag on properties that possess such a commanding view, nothing could be further from the truth in Kabul.

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My Comment: What struck me about this report is that Kabul's population has exploded from one million to five million in just 10 years.

A Story Of Hope In Afghanistan

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Theresa Richards smiles after giving a piece of candy to an Afghan girl during a mission in Farah City in Afghanistan's Farah province, Sept. 29, 2012. Richards, a hospital corpsman, is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Benjamin Addison

Amid Concerns About Afghan-American Partnership, A Story Of Trust -- Washington Post

KABUL — 1st Lt. Michael Molczyk had heard stories about “insider” attacks — and the Afghan soldiers and police officers who grew to see their partners as enemies. As a platoon commander, he couldn’t ignore those assaults on American troops, which during bad weeks were reported day after day.

But to him, he said, the stories sounded like news from a different planet. In Molczyk’s corner of eastern Afghanistan, uniformed Afghans had saved American lives time and again. They had developed a brotherhood with their U.S. partners that felt earned and unassailable.

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My Comment: It will probably take decades and generations of Afghans before the culture of the gun and religious extremism in Afghanistan is tempered. But as long as there are more Jalaluddins than fanatical Taliban soldiers .... there is reason to hope that this change will take place sooner rather than later.

A Story Of Hope In Afghanistan

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Theresa Richards smiles after giving a piece of candy to an Afghan girl during a mission in Farah City in Afghanistan's Farah province, Sept. 29, 2012. Richards, a hospital corpsman, is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Benjamin Addison

Amid Concerns About Afghan-American Partnership, A Story Of Trust -- Washington Post

KABUL — 1st Lt. Michael Molczyk had heard stories about “insider” attacks — and the Afghan soldiers and police officers who grew to see their partners as enemies. As a platoon commander, he couldn’t ignore those assaults on American troops, which during bad weeks were reported day after day.

But to him, he said, the stories sounded like news from a different planet. In Molczyk’s corner of eastern Afghanistan, uniformed Afghans had saved American lives time and again. They had developed a brotherhood with their U.S. partners that felt earned and unassailable.

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My Comment: It will probably take decades and generations of Afghans before the culture of the gun and religious extremism in Afghanistan is tempered. But as long as there are more Jalaluddins than fanatical Taliban soldiers .... there is reason to hope that this change will take place sooner rather than later.

A Story Of Hope In Afghanistan

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Theresa Richards smiles after giving a piece of candy to an Afghan girl during a mission in Farah City in Afghanistan's Farah province, Sept. 29, 2012. Richards, a hospital corpsman, is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Benjamin Addison

Amid Concerns About Afghan-American Partnership, A Story Of Trust -- Washington Post

KABUL — 1st Lt. Michael Molczyk had heard stories about “insider” attacks — and the Afghan soldiers and police officers who grew to see their partners as enemies. As a platoon commander, he couldn’t ignore those assaults on American troops, which during bad weeks were reported day after day.

But to him, he said, the stories sounded like news from a different planet. In Molczyk’s corner of eastern Afghanistan, uniformed Afghans had saved American lives time and again. They had developed a brotherhood with their U.S. partners that felt earned and unassailable.

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My Comment: It will probably take decades and generations of Afghans before the culture of the gun and religious extremism in Afghanistan is tempered. But as long as there are more Jalaluddins than fanatical Taliban soldiers .... there is reason to hope that this change will take place sooner rather than later.

Afghanistan Clerics Are Now Openly Supporting The Taliban

Losing Afghanistan: Clerics Now Openly Support The Taliban

The occupation, they say, has actively encouraged a litany of personal and political ills in an effort to weaken the bedrock of society: Islam.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Mawlawi Ataullah Faizani took time out from teaching Islamic studies at a girls’ school in Kabul to explain why Afghans have a duty to resist the occupation of their country.

He quoted sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, spoke of foreign troops humiliating civilians, and ridiculed the corruption that runs through the heart of the government.

“This anarchy has been created by the West,” he told GlobalPost. “The West is never happy to let Muslims be united.”

Faizani’s views are common among members of the powerful religious establishment here. Clerics and scholars now openly sympathize with the Taliban and question much of what NATO claims to have achieved.

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My Comment: Cannot say that I am surprised by this development .... the vast majority of clerics in Afghanistan have always been very supportive of the Taliban, giving them the "moral" support for their rule before the 2001 invasion, and moral support support in the past decade of conflict. What is surprising (and disturbing) about this development is that they are now openly stating it.

What's Kabul's Future?

 

Kabul - A City of Hope And Fear -- Al Jazeera 

With the US set to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in 2014, what does the future hold for the country's capital? Taking a stroll through the parks and bazaars of Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, after many years covering the war in the south and the east of the country, could have been both terrifying and liberating. I was conscious that there was certainly a very real threat from suicide bombers and the “spectacular” attacks that garner international headlines, but in reality I found that after following US troops patrolling IED (improvised explosive device) infested orchards in Kandahar or climbing mountains swarming with Taliban fighters in Nuristan and Kunar, Kabul actually felt like a different, much safer world. For the moment at least.

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My Comment:  A sobering look at Kabul. I have no reason to be optimistic that they will be spared from the war once US and NATO forces leave.

Army Wife Reunited With Her Soldier Husband On Stage At Toby Keith Concert

Army Wife Reunited With Her Soldier Husband On Stage At Toby Keith Concert As He Is Brought Home Early From Afghanistan -- Daily Mail

This heart-warming video captures the moment country singer Toby Keith surprised the wife of a soldier fighting in Afghanistan by bringing them both on stage at his concert for a tear-jerking reunion.

The singer paused during his September 8 show in Houston, Texas, to ask the audience if there was anyone in the crowd with a loved one currently on operational tour.

The spotlight fell on the woman as her friends cheered and waved excitedly, pointing at her and shepherding her toward the stage.

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My Comment: It is a great song.