Aug
07
2009
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 07 August 2009 |
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The exhuast from the four engines of a C-130 cargo plane is hot enough to cook flesh.
As you exit the cargo ramp, the exhaust has cooled down to a 150 degree 70 mile per hour wind.
As I walked out the exhaust blast I discovered the rest of FOB Fenty in Jalalabad felt just as hot.
Jalalabad is one of the hottest places in Afghanistan in the summer but has a mild winter climate.
It is a sprawling city of concrete, mudbrick and dust at the confluence of the Kunar and Kabul rivers, is the dominant city in Nangarhar province.
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| Jalalabad and Kabul river |
Alexander the Great's army massed near Jalalabad before his invasion of the Indus valley in modern day Pakistan.
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Aug
05
2009
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Written by JD Johannes
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Wednesday, 05 August 2009 |
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Sounds like the set for a joke, but I was met at the airport by two Afghans who work with a friend of mine in the logistics business.
Kabul International is a busy airport. Several regional airlines run daily flights around Afghanistan and between international destinations like Dubai and New Delhi.
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| JD outside the old terminal at Kabul International |
The baggage claim system in the new terminal works well and as an airport, it could compare with smaller, regional airports in places like Topeka, KS.
I was met by two local Afghans who took me on a driving tour of Kabul and then on to Bagram.
JD is short for Jawad, he is a Hazar, an ethnic group in the north/central part of Iraq.
And Haji is Haji because he has made the Haj. Haji also fought with the Taliban for a few years before going into the logistics business with a few western expats
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| JD (left) and Haji (right) |
We took the scenic route, winding through Kabul from the airport to the Intercontinental Hotel, where we had lunch with a friend of mine from Iraq who is working with NDI running a team of election monitors.
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Aug
03
2009
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Written by JD Johannes
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Tuesday, 04 August 2009 |
"You are not afraid to fly into Kabul?" the woman at the information desk of Dubai International Airport asked me.
Obviously not.
I am currently sitting in economy class on the Kam air flight to Kabul.
I'm feeling good, well rested and ready to get operating. What else should I expect, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
The Holiday Inn Express in the Knowledge City section of Dubai is a two-star hotel according to the Dubai tourism and marketing agency.
But, if that hotel was in the US, it would be a three to four star easy.
But, in Dubai, the five star standard is set pretty high.
Taxi service is reliable and they don't over charge too much. Dubai is a success as a city state because the systems are reliable and predictable. The taxi may have been the cleanest I have ever been in.
I caught the Kam air flight with minimal trouble--even with a change in flight due to arriving a day late in Dubai.
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Aug
02
2009
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 03 August 2009 |
A few days ago I posted about all the delays and things that kept happening to slow down my trip to Afghanistan and how I was asking God, "got anymore surprises?"
Well, one more at least. Mechanical problem leading to flight cancellation of the Atlanta to Dubai flight.
No big deal.
The big trick was managing the logistics of everything that got moved back a day and doing it on the fly.
So far, the patchwork plan looks like it will work and be far more entertaining than the original plan.
In fact the way things are shaping, I am tempted to to jump right into some unilateral work. But, an infantry unit is expecting me so I will cover them first and try to get a handle on the tactical situation in at least one area.
Then...who knows.
But I have three basic missions beyond shooting some quality video to turn into TV.
1. Assess transhipment Kabul to Kyber and commercial prospects.
2. Election observation.
3. Tactical analysis of areas I see.
Some think-tank, NGO types asked if I could give them my input and I'm always happy to help.
I have a quick over-night in Dubai before I fly commercial into Kabul International where I'll be met at the airport by a pair of Afghans who work for a friend of mine in the logistics business.
We will have to make a few stops in Kabul then they will drop me off at the US military base at Bagram. As in drop me off outside the gate. Actually this is a situation that always scares me--lots of rifles pointed in my direction held by men and women who can shoot with precision.
Dubai...for those who are curious, is a lot like Las Vegas--garish, audacious, but ultimately built on sand.
It is a transhipment point, a business hub, but has very little home-grown industry. Dubai was and possibily is the ultimate bubble.
When the dollars were sloshing around, people wanted to buy into the action--but like many places during the bubble, the only action to get in on was the action of people getting in on the action.
Dubai's future, its real future, is based on it being a place open to the west that is safe, where things are reliable, where disputes can be settled fairly and business conducted with the same level of trust and ease as in the west--if not more so than the west.
I am staying near the Palm Islands, you know, the man-made islands that looks like a palm tree. I even found a little elevation, but a mild sand storm haze is blocking the view.
For the next few hours it is the safe and construction zone littered Dubai. Then a quick flight and I'm in Kabul.
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