Friday, July 25, 2008

Surplus Ammo...and Some Pictures, But Not of Ammo

Word on the street is that the bad guys have had trouble expending their explosives and ammo this summer. Gee, in only a couple months the high mountain passes will start getting difficult. By late fall many passes will be closed with snow. What to do? Can't have all this excess capability lying about.

So, the other word is that the bad guys may step up attacks just to get rid of inventory before winter sets in. Storing all that stuff is a bugger during the winter. Unfortunately for them, the bad guys find it difficult to operate during the winter. Not so the US forces and Afghan National Army. Since we can still get around...at least better than the bad guys...we will be rooting out all their caches. Not a pleasant thought for the bad guys. Explosives and ammo do cost money and the bad guy budget is limited in spite of record opium production.

I'm just worried that all this might affect my picture-taking. Bloody inconsiderate of the bad guys to threaten death and mayhem when I'm trying to show everyone outside Afghanistan that things aren't as bad as portrayed by the media...at least not in Kabul. With that in mind, I'm just putting up some people pictures today. Enjoy.


These three people have one thing in common (apart from being Afghans).
They all have full shopping bags, having completed their visit to the local vendors.


Two school girls going home on the last day of school.
They don't appear happy of that fact.

One of the guys I work with surrounded by some of our local friends.
The girl's older brother on the left was seriously injured by a landmine three years ago.
He lost his left eye, about half his teeth and his right arm just below the elbow.

The market opens.

Women waiting for a taxi, workmen resting and an old man on a bicycle.
Just ordinary people going about their business.

2 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Be careful. I hope this year they don't step up their attacks. Great pictures. I felt so sad for the guy who lost his arm. How terrible.

J. L. Krueger said...

Charles,

You see a lot of amputees here. This is one of the world's most heavily mined countries...with predictable consequences.

The guy in the picture is actually quite linguistically talented. He speaks English, German, some Russian, Dari and Pashtu. His little sister Naidha is fluent in English and speaks some German in addition to her native Dari.