The 130-year war

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:43:30 +0000

The news that an otherwise normal-seeming Afghan policeman killed five British soldiers and wounded six more in Helmand this past week was shocking. It was not, unfortunately, surprising for anyone who has spent a significant amount of time in the volatile southern province. Animosity against the British runs deep in Helmand — much deeper, perhaps, than the British are aware.

The unexpected hazards of life in a war zone

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:56:50 +0000

It is most inconvenient to take a shower wearing a flak jacket and helmet, but that may have to be my new morning routine. I was at the Kabul Serena Hotel today when two mortar rounds interrupted my post-workout ablutions.

The mind plays strange tricks in times of crisis, and I was determined not to believe that I could really be caught at such a delicate moment.

“It’s just the pipes acting up,” I thought when I heard the boom. “Or perhaps thunder.”

Karzai in Wonderland

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:15:22 +0000

I swear I saw a Cheshire-cat grin slowly evaporating around President Hamid Karzai at today’s press conference, where he was hailed as a statesman and a leader for obeying the law.

Karzai beamed as he announced that a second round of elections would be held on Nov. 7, barely two weeks away, even as he obliquely rejected the findings of the Electoral Complaints Commission that necessitated the runoff.

“I leave it to the Afghan people to decide … if I am the winner or not," he said, referring to the first round of voting.

Shady deals behind the scenes in Kabul

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:40:56 +0000

For weeks journalists like me have been sitting like jittery hens on a particularly fragile egg, waiting to see when, or if, a winner will be declared in Afghanistan's tragicomic presidential election.

The results have been expected “within days” for the better part of a month. With nothing concrete to report, we swarm the various election commissions, swap rumors and spin increasingly desperate stories about the next steps in this bizarre epic.

A dark anniversary

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:09:34 +0000

The world was prepped and ready on Oct. 7, 2001, as the United States, reeling from 9/11, gathered itself to deliver a crushing blow to an enemy who had shattered forever America’s image of itself as an invincible, inviolable power.

The punishment to be meted out would destroy Al Qaeda and its allies, assuage the shock and humiliation of the Twin Tower attacks, and show any miscreants what happens to those who try and take on the world’s only superpower.

It did not quite work out that way.

UN envoy in Afghanistan calls a little too often, loud and late for respect of "process"

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:49:38 +0000

"I think Kai Eide should be fined $100 every time he uses the word 'process' " said my friend Alex, as we discussed the elections over a glass of wine the other evening.

At that rate, the U.N. Special Representative would be broke in no time. In his increasingly frantic efforts to limit the damage from a very public and extremely unattractive spat with his recently sacked deputy, Peter Galbraith, Eide has speckled his utterances with more and more references to the need to "respect the process" in the Afghan elections.

The trappings of war, and worry for the future, mark Eid in Kabul

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:51:16 +0000

Here in Kabul, I can hear the constant sound of guns firing, accompanied by small explosions throughout the city. Either war has broken out or it’s Eid, the holiday that marks the end of the month long Ramadan fast.

Eid is a festive time, if only because the entire population devotes itself to eating as much as possible to make up for the weeks of deprivation. Every home has a huge spread of cookies, cakes, raisins and nuts, along with endless cups of green tea.

On politics and poppy

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:23:33 +0000

BADAKHSHAN — The bearded elders assembled in the fertile valley of Talbuzan listened solemnly as their leaders railed somewhat lackadaisically against the evils of poppy.

“Allah has said that alcohol and gambling are forbidden,” said religious scholar Ghulam Nabi, addressing a village shura, or council. “Poppy, also. You should avoid these things.”

Iran election: The view from Kabul

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:53:17 +0000

It may be an earthquake for Iran, but it is barely a tremor for most Afghans. While Kabul residents seem to be watching the riots in Tehran with interest, the central issue — a growing movement against a fundamentalist dictatorship — does not seem to register.

This may be because the fever pitch of the Iranian demonstrations is the cadence at which people here have been living for the past 30 years. A million angry people in the streets of the Iranian capital may make for good television, but it is not about to strike fear into the hearts of the doughty Afghans.

Obama's speech: The view from Kabul

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:35:14 +0000

It was a great speech. Too bad nobody heard it.

While America waited with bated breath for reaction from the “Muslim world” to Obama’s message of peace and solidarity, Afghans went blithely about their business. From the point of view of the ordinary Kabul dweller, the rousing speech in Cairo was a tree falling in a very distant forest.

The new strategy at work?

Wed, 06 May 2009 20:44:03 +0000

The story doesn’t seem to change: bandaged babies and the bodies of women, angry villagers and fire-spewing officials. The latest bombing of civilians in Afghanistan — reportedly by U.S. forces, and resorting in scores dead — differs only in that it took place in Farah, a remote southern province about which very little is known.

Afghan blues in Washington, D.C.

Wed, 06 May 2009 20:00:25 +0000

Everyone needs a break from Afghanistan every now and again, and I was greatly enjoying my own. But no sooner did I wash up in our nation’s capital than Afghan President Hamed Karzai appeared here, too. Top news of the day in D.C. is the complicated relationship between Karzai and the U.S. president.

The Prince of Panjshir

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:02:29 +0000

It’s always uncomfortable for a reporter when she knows she’s being “spun.” But a trip to the Panjshir Valley and lunch with a possible presidential contender were just too good to pass up. So, on a rainy Friday morning, along with about 20 other reporters, photographers and assorted hangers-on, I dutifully piled into one of a convoy of white Land Cruisers, and we set off for the two-hour drive to the home of Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.

Tea with the Taliban

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:25:09 +0000

Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef is an angry man. I know this from reading snatches of his forthcoming book, “My Life with the Taliban”. But I would never guess it from the affable, bearded giant before me, hunched over his Compaq computer in his multi-storied home in a remote Kabul suburb.

Afghanistan hands fear US troop surge means trouble

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:55:54 +0000

Yesterday evening, at a gathering of diplomats in Kabul's rarefied embassy district, the proposed U.S. troop surge was one of the main topics under discussion. As the lone American, I was all too uncomfortably aware of the raised eyebrows, smirks, or outright invective the prospect induces in those who know Afghanistan well.

"More troops mean more violence. That is quite clear," said one European political officer.

Afghan envoy departs, leaving few in doubt of U.S. stance on Karzai

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:27:50 +0000

As Richard Holbrooke left Kabul on Sunday evening, one could almost hear the last nail being driven into President Hamed Karzai’s political coffin.

Not only did he spend almost two full days in the Afghan capital before meeting the president, he gave a 30-minute interview with the immensely popular Tolo TV, in stark contrast to the stiff and awkward photo oppertunity held with Karzai on Sunday afternoon.

Shock attack by Taliban kills scores

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:55:30 +0000

Audacious attacks by Taliban insurgents on two government buildings in Kabul on Wednesday that killed as many as 28 people are more than likely a response to planned U.S. troop increases, according to analysts.

The attacks, the boldest on the capital by the Islamist group since their ouster in 2001, also appear timed to coincide with a planned visit by the new U.S. envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke.

In Herat, immense beauty, contradiction and peril

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 01:22:06 +0000

Afghans leave the shrine of a renowned poet and scholar, Khowja Abdullah Ansari, in the western city of Herat. (Sayed Salahuddin/Reuters)

Afghanistan elections postponed, raising concerns

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:23:08 +0000

Afghanistan officials on Thursday said they would postpone presidential elections until Aug. 20.

The president’s term is due to expire on the Roman calendar’s equivalent of May 22 and the the constitution states that elections must be held 30 to 60 days before the end of the term.

Opposition leaders questioned the legitimacy of Hamid Karzai's presidency for the period of the postponement, according to a New York Times report.

Kabul Lights Up for Obama

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:15:07 +0000

Kabul residents certainly had something to celebrate on Jan. 20, at least those in my neighborhood. For the first time since last summer, the electricity stayed on all night, as Afghans watched the 44th U.S. president take the oath of office.

Afghan television carried the event live, and one of the largest stations, Tolo TV, had its own correspondent in Washington. Those not lucky enough to live in the electrified areas of Kabul took special precautions.