I am still narrowing my gaze at you, NE Afghanistan.

Last time I chimed in on what was going on in Afghanistan, things were shuffling around a bit. Has it made a difference? Not as of yet…

The Pakistanis are still meddling, but the Afghans are getting a bit harsher on those abetting it. The Hazaras are still really unhappy with …everyone else (this is not a new thing). The upcoming election has seen the usual spate o’ bombings and such. I do have to give credit to the Afghans…they still get out there and try. (Oh, how depressing a job must the “Executive Director of Integrity Watch Afghanistan” be?)

So how about the war? We still have some NATO members dragged into it. See here for the official line. Oh, and we are still shootin’ away. Some of the “strikes” sound like the British cops when they beat their chests about confiscating a screwdriver or a sharpened toothbrush handle…

• In Helmand Province, one strike destroyed one motorcycle.

• In Laghman Province, five strikes denied terrain.

..wha? TRANSLATION – “hey, we hit something!” and “we missed”

Blood seems to be down, treasure is not. Right now, the Afghans are doing most of the fighting – which is supposed to be the goal. But, I want to see after the October 20th election, if they have any movement toward talking with the Talib. Both sides are really tired, but have to maintain a strong looking posture, for domestic (or foreign backer) consumption. This has been 40+ years of fighting, one way or the other, for many Afghans.

To be continued (and continued, and continued…)