In an odd sort of way it offers hope for the future. For now I suppose it serves one well to have a love for irony.

Good imagery, although I do find the thought of civil servants in swimming trunks somewhat disturbing.

Kent you have lost it completely. You have confirmed that you are no friend of the Afghans. To harken back to the days of the Soviets as a time gone by, like Gone with the Wind, does an injustice to the atrocities of the same open soviets you speak of. You should be ashamed of yourself. No wonder you have been relegated to the nadir of journalism; the blog.

Ah Kamal, welcome back, and thanks, as ever, for your contribution. Just one suggestion - it's probably best to include, in your reading of the articles you find here at skyreporter, small items such as the opening paragraphs.

It is nice to hear you mention how American servicemen and women want to have a positive effect in Afghanistan. Most of them also feel that way about Iraq.

My Son-in-law (my Son) is career military. I just returned to Florida after spending 10 months with them at their current duty assignment. I met many of his fellow servicemen and their families. Most of them feel alienated from the rest of Americans and unappreciated. They are frustrated that their efforts to do good are lost in the chaos of all that is going wrong. Oh yes, I know that there are bad people in the military, but there are bad people in all walks of life. Most military personnel are honest, caring individuals who have joined the service because they want to help make the world a safer place.

They have no choice but to follow the orders of their Commander-in-Chief, even though he and his cohorts have show themselves to be short-sighted and have proven that they have no real understanding of the concept of strategy.

The bunker mentality that you mentioned is evident even here. My granchildren live in a world where they are told to be careful. They are potential targets for terrorists. Oh yes, they laugh, they play, and whether we are together or talking on the phone - we giggle and are silly. I know that they are safer than the children in Afghanistan and Iraq. They know that too. They know that children are dying in both those countries. As a Grandmother, it is difficult to know that their lives are permeated by war.

Bonny, the encouraging thing about most of the American servicemen and women I've encountered in the field is that they really believe all those high-minded pledges our leaders make about bringing peace and stability to the world. The discouragement begins with those leaders. As you say, the current administration has betrayed the armed services by failing to walk the walk on policy.

Afghanistan's as clear an example of this as is Iraq. It's just not receiving a fraction of the coverage in the mainstream American media. Most US taxpayers would rail at the irony of the situation I've described above. In the 80's, more US tax dollars were invested in the CIA's campaign against the Soviets in Afghanistan than in any other covert operation in the agency's history. Yet today, US troops hunker down while Russians stroll their manicured embassy grounds in their speedos.

As Brian says, that's hardly a pretty image, but it's an instructive one. The Russian "agencies," under Putin's leadership, are as cold and calculating as they come. They've shed the skin of the shameful and bloody deeds of the Soviets in Afghanistan - though their efforts today are anything but wholesome.

Hard to see how the CIA can keep up with them. Too many of Langely's finest are languishing within their compound walls, watching DVDs of CSI and The Good Shepherd sent from home, and wondering how a posting so right has turned out to be so wrong...

It is a disturbing image. Not just because of our dollars that went into the CIA coverage, but because of the billions of dollars we loaned the Russians to help keep them from going under. A loan they haven't paid back.

Kamal, I think you are taking Arthur's report too generally. I take it as Arthur saying figuratively, the russians may have been able to move around the general public with some freedom...but we all know what happened to the Soviet campaign in the 80's.

Now look at the US efforts, how can armies from a foreign country's gain the support of the general public "which is a stated goal of the Bush admin" when the army cannot move from their barrack without complete protection.

So I take the report as... there needs to be a rethink of; what is the objective of why and what we are trying to accomplish in Afghanistan, with the people of Afghanistan.

If those question's cannot be answered with the Afghan people at the forefront... then the objective is flawed.

Joe Mac, thanks. The Soviets were cruel bastards in Afghanistan - and for those of us who witnessed their savagery towards the civilian population, that's putting it politely.

Western nations did little to deserve the opportunity we've had, post-Taliban, to correct our own past blunders in Afghanistan. That our leaders have squandered that chance so stupidly, allowing any comparison whatsoever to the Soviet era - well, it's a damning indictment of our self-professed champions of democracy.

When occupying forces believe that they are in Afghanistan in order to help, they are under the illusion that they are "acting morally out of a shared belief in the humanity of all people."

In fact, they undertake some of the worst atrocities in the name of "helping." Their argument of 'Peace through War' is nothing more than an oxymoron.

Aziz. I had several thoughts for you about your inane comment, but after thinking about it, I realize they would be pointless. Thank you for making me realize that I really do need to get a life.

Arthur. Sometimes I think that in a way it might be a case of us protecting the Afghans from ourselves when we lock our military and diplomats into compounds. I don't know if the cultural divide could endure the shock of an immediate integration. It is their country and the westernization of an Islamic society is not the aim here. But the restaurants, and other establishments have catered to the westerners with the money - serving alcohol, altering menus, changing business hours etc...
My time in Afghanistan was only effective because we didn't have the restrictions imposed on us like other military missions. We engaged daily with Afghans - shared meals, learned the language, and most of all we respected their culture and religion. As well, we tried to practice discretion when we wanted to enjoy some our own western activities. When we engaged in Afghans on a daily basis, it was easier to understand the issues in Afghanistan in a holistic sense - and through the eyes of an Afghan.

Aziz. Nor will I waste too much time responding to your unqualified comments. Please make us understand who you would rather have in Afghanistan "helping" (to use your term). No! don't bother I'd rather not see your interjection.

TL and Bonny, it's possible you've interpreted Aziz's comment only by way of its darkest qualities. The bitterness you sense there is something you'd regularly hear in conversations in Afghanistan. People have become frustrated with the promises of Western powers - and deeply suspicious as to why we've failed so miserably to deliver on those promises.

I think our disallusionment isn't so far distant from Aziz's. What do any of us want? Peace, stability and leaders whose pronouncements can be counted on to at least a minimal degree. We all share big deficits on those fronts, don't we?

Trouble is, we're responsible not only for our own poor governments. We've foisted a whole leadership cabal onto the Afghan people, and all in the guise of bringing peace and reconstruction. No wonder we're sensing a backlash.

I can't disagree with the post of Aziz, the fact that a Military group went in to relief the US... so that they could go for Iraq was wrong.

Now that we are there, I believe a combination of military security, and actual normal day to day activities for Afghans, dealing with building their homes, providing food and a life for their families, and respecting their take on life, will solve many of the terror issues’ in this part of the region" the US admin keeps pointing at.

The one key point that I believe will be the undoing of NATO is civilian casualties...if the military can't stop this, then we lose the local people.

Some Afghans do want foreign troops in Afghanistan because they are afraid of what will happen if they leave. Some do not want them there at all and wish Afghans would figure out a solution on their own without interference. What's wrong with that? The Americans first bombed Afghanistan before they went in there to "help". This is a fact. Why the outrage?

The American "Commander-in-Chief" is an idiot. He is mocked and reviled all over the world. It astounds me that Americans believe everything their media says. As Arthur says, we're responsible for our own poor governments. Why isn't there more critique by Americans over their government's presence in Afghanistan and Iraq? Karzai is an American puppet and he only wants a foreign presence in Afghanistan to secure his own power.

This backlash is nothing. Almost every Afghan and Iraqi family has lost someone violently. When the children of Afghanistan and Iraq grow up they will play out the damage (losing relatives, listening to bombing, not feeling safe, post traumatic stress disorder, shortage of food/medicine, lack of quality education, general disruption of life) that has been inflicted upon them. The worst of the backlash is yet to come.

Arthur, point well taken. I've never heard of anyone, especially servicemen and women, who held the viewpoint of "Peace through War." And I grew up with a Father who was an Army Medical Supply Officer and an Uncle who was, at one point in his career, the Commanding Officer of an Air Force base.

Allow me to clarify. My experience with war has been my nation stepping in when other aggressive nations have overstepped their boundaries. Europe was angry with us when we waited to get involved with World War II. My Brother served two of his three tours of duty in Vietnam as a Medivac Pilot. I was a military wife during that same era.

Now my nation has become the agressor in Iraq. A devastating position to be in as a citizen. Julia, we are not all mindless puppets who believe everything we are fed by the media. Most of us are capable of independent investigation of the truth.

Bottom line. This war is about a growing radical group of fanatics who want to give those of us in the Western culture the choice of either becoming Muslim or dying. I'm devastated that my government's current administration shows no understanding of what to do.

Arthur, when I feel my Irish dander rising, then it's time for me to take a break. Time for Bon Bon to lighten up. It isn't lost on me that I have the security and freedom to do just that. I appreciate your understanding and tolerance of my viewpoints. This is my first experience at "blogging".

See y'all later.

Bonny, welcome to the blogosphere. Take a break but do come back - your contributions are valued here. And as they say in Pashtu in Afghanistan: may you never get tired.

This war is about colonization and securing resources. Islam is being used as a smokescreen.

I'm a Western Muslim ("homegrown" that is, born and raised in North America) and I don't believe for one second that this is about converting Westerners or else. It's about securing and controlling dwindling natural resources for North Americans.

Besides, is anyone keeping track of the number of dead in Iraq/Afghanistan. Traffic stopped on a major highway in my city when a dead soldier was returned home. Who mourns for Muslim dead?

I'm no fan of fanatics, Muslim or otherwise. Your version of fanatic knows that there are hundreds of thousands of Muslims in North America. Muslims died in the WTC and London bombings too. Leaders would like us to think that Muslims are a threat. You might be interested to know that North American/Western Muslims feel threatend.