Comments on Strong Ideas: Real Change Comes Slowly in the Land of the Mounta...

Arnold -Nice to see you are doing well. I also en...

2007-03-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

Arnold -

Nice to see you are doing well. I also enjoy your blog and read it to keep up to date on what you guys are up to. Tell everyone "hi" from me. See you soon, my friend.

B. Hagedorn

"Randerson" and Sara, Thanks for your comments. I...

2007-03-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

"Randerson" and Sara, Thanks for your comments. I will make a better effort to keep up with the blog. Hearing from readers makes it worthwhile. Today was a beautiful day in Kabul, yesterday's rains having cleared the skies and the view of the snow capped peaks was stunning.

Na' Ruz, the Muslim New Year is onight...happy new year

I had seen your blog on the nytimes blog, and am g...

2007-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

I had seen your blog on the nytimes blog, and am glad to see you up again. This reading was like a bright stream of light from the clouds. Seems all we hear is success Not fast enough Not good enough Let's get out. I'm not doing a very good job of using words. Just thank you, and I pray with the Afghans for democracy for them, and that we will be patient with them. Thank you and all those who have gone where you are.

Hi, I found your blog while trying to learn a litt...

2007-03-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

Hi, I found your blog while trying to learn a little bit more about life at Camp Alamo. I wanted to thank you for sharing your experiences so that we can better understand how greatful we can be for all the fine people like yourself who do such amazing and important work.

Thanks for the reply. It's nice to see that the ef...

2007-03-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the reply.

It's nice to see that the effort has a clear plan of action (the three legged stool) and the legs sound like the right choices from here.

The corruption issue is interesting. An Afghan who has money flowing through his hands (say soldier salaries), and doesn't siphon some off to extended family and clan, is immoral. So he's stuck between the rules the army tells him, and the morality he was raised on. It's no contest.

I don't really have an answer to that. Maybe an accounting system that makes it impossible to siphon off money or hire on relations? If there is no opportunity there is no conflict.

Matt

Matt,Thanks for your insightful queries. All of y...

2007-03-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Matt,

Thanks for your insightful queries. All of your points are spot on. There are three primary legs that this stool of a Nation stands upon: Security (us and the ANA); Development (whether USAID, UN or Investment); and Government Reform (Specifically, the issue of graft and corruption). Without all three of these legs, it will not stand on its own feet.

Just today we finished an Outbrief with the staff of the MOD. The senior leadership of the ANA is very focused on resolving the issue of graft. We have found some very minor examples of it, but fortunately, the challenge is not that deep here in the school house. We also have a very thorough vetting process to identify and track the ANA Soldiers while they are here and once they deploy. The reality is that what you and I often call corruption, the people of one of the poorest nations on the planet (and without the Poppy culture, THE poorest) call survival.

Your point about the ethnic balancing is very astute. It is one of the elements that makes this Nation as well as this Army the success that it is rapidly becoming. Our efforts and those of the Afghans are to train and graduate just that an "Afghan" national army. And that is what, increasingly, they call themselves. Private Soldiers from the moment of inception are placed into mixed race ranks at the squad level, so that Pashtuns will need to rely on Tajiks and Uzbeks will have to rely on Hazaras. It is a good method that is taking root in the communities that all of these Soldiers deploy to. My reference to "Pashtunwali" is more a code of conduct that is widely accepted across Afghanistan.

Thanks so much for your smart commentary.

From Kabul,

Arnold

My reading was that past problems with the Afghan ...

2007-03-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

My reading was that past problems with the Afghan military included trouble getting decent pay to the soldiers and soldiers disappointed in the pay then left for their home militias.

Are the 2000 a month you are training getting their pay? Is it possible some of them will take their training to groups either neutral in the Taliban / coalition fight, or possibly Taliban leaning? Has the graft issue been subdued well enough that the pay doesn't get siphoned off in part before it reaches the ranks?

And I thought the army was supposed to be ethnically balanced. Only 40% should therefore be Pashtun. I'm getting the impression the men you are training are Pashtun. Why is that?

Matt