Its now been more than six years since I started this blog. Six years, to the day, since American troops secured Baghdad's Firdos Square and tore down that statue of Saddam Hussein. And some years since this blog has been really updated.
But today is my first full day in Kabul.
This is a city still very visibly suffering from decades of civil war. Baghdad's airport road was a constant terrorist target; in Kabul, the dangers are deep potholes, crumbling concrete and an airport that makes BIAP look luxurious. Fear is a common element between the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. But while the undercurrent in Iraq was some suspicion, anger and resentment, here in Afghanistan there is remarkable resilience, welcome and optimism. As in Iraq, new towers of steel and glass rise above the ancient streets tangled by traffic. Beyond the city, tribalism of very different sorts. For western troops, a very different fight ... that also grows.
The promise from America is that Afghanistan will be neglected no longer.
And it is an outlook I hope to extend to this blog. Watch out for a new name, new design. And more postings.
Change.
Stay tuned, as they say.
This is The Long War,
The story isn't finished. And neither am I.
Time, still, to mark new anniversaries.
- Tom
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