A U.S. Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit looks through his gun sights during a patrol in the town of Garmser in Helmand Province of Afghanistan, Sunday, July 13, 2008. Some 2,200 Marines, who have been deployed since late April, moved into the town of Garmser to sweep out insurgents. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)From Registan:
FOB MORALES-FRAZIER, AFGHANISTAN — It is interesting to hear what Kabulis think of the way their country is going. Here in Kapisa, just north and east (but a universe apart), things are rather different. Indeed, a common complaint locals raise when we suggest bad security might be why we can’t start many projects is, “oh c’mon — the Taliban are everywhere. That’s no excuse.”
Such a blasé attitude toward the prospect of random death is not easy to understand… at least from our vantage point. Indeed, I will venture a guess that a lot of the tragedy in what David is reporting is that the same choices and environment now facing Kabulis is really what far too many regular Afghans face on a regular basis. From my perspective, behind the concertina wire and hesco barricades, the contrast between mostly Pashtun and mostly Tajik areas cannot be any more stark: Nijrab Valley is glorious, lush, prosperous, and filled with well-maintained buildings. Afghaniya and Tagab Valleys have more obvious problems—there, the fields are browner, there is a noticeable lack of relative development, and driving through the people express far more fear of us.
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My Comment: The unreality of Kabul is probably an understatement. Another good post from the Registan.