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The Mad Mullah and the Giant Earthquake

Northern Pakistan was hit by a 6.1 or possibly 6.4 earthquake this afternoon. The shaking was also felt throughout southern Afghanistan including Kabul. There’s nothing unusual about this and indeed earthquakes are pretty common in the region.  They’re caused by the ongoing collision of the Indian subcontinent with the under belly of Asia.  It’s a [...]

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NATO Soldiers, Booze and Bullets

I see that General McChrystal, the most senior military commander overseeing the NATO operations in Afghanistan, has had to shut down all drinking at his headquarters in Kabul. According to his daily report of activities released by his staff he decided to ban all drinking by his troops because too many of them couldn’t do [...]

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Quiet August Days in Afghanistan

The news from Afghanistan since the election hasn’t been good.  More bombings and general uneasiness.  conditions remind me of the late summer a few years ago when I wrote the following dispatch for a newsletter I had going called “The Kabul Papers” I haven’t written a “Kabul Papers” for a long time now and it [...]

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Las Vegas as a Permanent Insanity

What value can there be to yet another article about Las Vegas and in particular the “Strip”?  Thousands of writers have brought their analytic tools to the Present Arms! position and marched along the Strip through the searing light that can dull lasers and the oxygen-less exhaust heat from Hell that roils in from the [...]

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Life in Afghanistan Before the Taliban

I don’t know who took these pictures but the story is that they were taken in 1968 by a British diplomat. If anyone knows who I can contact to see whether I can display these with permission I would appreciate the contact info.  And should the owner of these pictures want them taken down I [...]

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Water is Life

Travelers, even the type that heads for a cosseted resort in a first world country, know to be careful about the local water.  But what do you do when you are in a country where there is no safe water? Buy bottled water you’d say. Most of the time that would be a good idea, [...]

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What To Do In A Minefield

I’m often asked if I worry about getting shot when working in some of the places I go to. Not really.  I mean, it is something I am always aware of and something I try to be prepared for, but the possibility of getting shot is not nearly the nightmare that people assume it is. [...]

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