News From Afghanistan

My friend sent around another update of the goings-on in Afghanistan, and in his opinion and that of the US Army, things are going well.

The bad guys continue to leave an area as soon as they learn we are on the way or attempt to leave while we are there and we see these as continued indicators to the local Afghan population that the much vaunted Taliban are not as brave as their own publicity claims they are. What it does show is that the Afghan Army, and to an extent the Afghan Police, are increasingly thought of as being more effective than in the past. While it sounds less than ideal if the insurgents leave an area before we get there, and to an extent that is the case, in the end what it offers us is breathing room to engage with the population and show them the Afghan forces that the population may have not seen before. We went to a village back in August that is so isolated that the population was not aware that there was an Afghan government. They actually asked “where are the Soviets?” Its not like this was some isolated island out in the middle of the Pacific with no possibility for connection to the population, this is a village not far from a main road, but isolated due to terrain and lack of electricity. Secondly, it allows us to interact in a relatively calm environment and truly speak with the locals to see what it is that they need and or want assistance with, if anything. Lately, we have had more and more cases of the locals taking care of their own problems and finding their own solutions. Lastly, it affords us the opportunity to coach and mentor the Afghan Army and Police and help mold them into a truly professional fighting and security force.

This culture will let things stew for centuries without making any progress or even knowing what the true issue is. In the Pashtunwali Code it may not matter what the dispute is about. The simple fact that one tribe thinks another tribe dishonored them or stole from them, true or not, is reason enough for a blood dispute. I may have mentioned this, but the Pashtunwali Code is a code that the Pashtun people live by that drives their lives and decision making process. For instance, a local will take into their home for food and shelter a US Soldier or a known Taliban simply if asked because the code says they will shelter and assist those that ask. This of course leads to problems because in our society a person that does that is aiding and abetting if they allow a known criminal into their world. Not the case here.