The Wild, Wild East???

Have you ever watched the movie, "Independence Day" and noticed how all of the people ran and drove through the streets without paying attention to street lights, pedestrian crossings or the direction that cars were going? Well, that's kinda what I experienced today on the streets of Kabul. As we entered the city, people were walking everywhere, men were pulling fully loaded carts in the middle of the streets, cars were driving in both directions on both sides of the street, and there were enough security checkpoints to remind you that this city is in a state of chaos. One older woman, like many others we saw, walked out into the busy street without even looking to see if cars were coming...we almost hit her at a slow speed and she looked surprised and kept walking!! Everything that I saw today was either old, remodeled or totally destroyed...piles of rubble where a building once stood, with trash and people living on top of it. There aren't any working street lights, no street name signs, no wrong way markers and every few Afghan National Police with enough time to cite drivers for infractions. The most astonishing thing about Afghanistan is that the drivers don't have insurance, they don't have to take a driver's test and most of them cannot read!! No wonder most of the cars I noticed had dinks and scratches...it's back to bumper cars at the local fairgrounds.

I finally moved into a permanent room today with a co-worker and friend named Carrie. She is an US Air Force Captain who also is a trained Public Affairs Officer. We really like our rooms and are hoping to get cool posters to put up. Maybe one of the Chipn'Dales??? Just kiddin' Brad~~

More about why we, the United States are here. The United States is here to prevent insurgents (mostly Afghans who don't want the government to take control of the country for religious, political, tribal or other reasons) from injuring, killing and bribing local Afghans, Non-profit Organizations providing assistance and others who enter Afghanistan to work or visit. Also, we are here to ensure the people have an equal opportunity to vote in the 2009 Elections which will be in Aug 2009. The most important of all, to me, is to assist local Afghans in building schools, hospitals, housing areas, learning new trades, developing clean water systems and to feel that they can walk down the street, stand in front of a building, pray to Allah without the fear of a bomb exploding in their face, or the cold chill of seeing a group of insurgents taking away their family. We are here to teach the Afghans how to protect themselves, how to turn away from corruption and choose what is just and right for all. Now we are not the only country here in Afghanistan.

There are over 38 countries currently here, assisting the Afghan government with teaching their police force, their army, their air force, their government leaders, their teachers, their electricians, their engineers on how to do their jobs. Check out the U.S. Central Command website to see the full listing of who is here, sacrificing their lives to make Afghanistan stronger. Of note, there are Italians, French, British, Canadians, Dutch, Macedonians, Norwegians, Australians, Spanish, Germans, and Japanese. These countries have military members spread across the country and are making a difference everyday. The formal name for this group is the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and they work with our U.S. Forces to get the job done. Don't you just love NATO???

Time to sleep...I have wonderful Spin class at 0600. Chaio, Bon Soir, Arebederche