Category Archives: Afghanistan

Poetry Slam (# 1) Cigar

Posted on 4 December 2012 by

My first attempt at travel poetry: I went to the bazaar in Kandahar and bought a cigar from a guy called Bashar.   Don’t worry. I will continue to write predominantly in prose. (Zur deutschen Version.)

Posted in Afghanistan, Travel | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Gays in the US Military

Posted on 13 November 2012 by

General David Petraeus has admitted to an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, an Army reservist who travelled with General Petraeus in Afghanistan when she was writing a book about the general. An FBI investigation had been launched after Mrs Broadwell … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Military, USA | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Where is Charlie Wilson when you need him?

Posted on 7 October 2012 by

Charlie Wilson was a member of the US House of Representatives who in the 1980s lobbied intensively for arming the Afghan rebels against the Soviet Union. He personally secured a lot of the funding for the Afghan Mujahideen from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Cold War, Military, Politics, Syria, USA | Tagged | 1 Comment

Colour-blind in Afghanistan

Posted on 3 October 2012 by

I don’t understand why the attacks on NATO and ISAF soldiers by members of the Afghan Army are called “green-on-blue” attacks. Given the colour of the uniforms, shouldn’t they be called “blue-on-green” attacks?

Posted in Afghanistan, Military | 6 Comments

The most useful record in the Guinness Book of Records

Posted on 14 July 2012 by

When I was young, I had a Guinness Book of Records from my mother’s childhood, sometime in the 1950s or 1960s. Back then, it was still an interesting and informative book to read. The records included the highest mountain, the highest building, … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Military | Tagged | 2 Comments

Souvenir from Afghanistan

Posted on 5 May 2012 by

Thousands of NATO soldiers will be returning home from Afghanistan soon. The toughest thing about being away for 6 months is knowing that your wife won’t be happy about your return, unless you bring a souvenir with you. I expect the following … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Military, Travel | Leave a comment

Bad Hair Day

Posted on 7 April 2012 by

Bad Hair Day in the West: Bad Hair Day in Iran: Bad Hair Day in Afghanistan:

Posted in Afghanistan, Human Rights, Iran, Religion | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Good bye, Afghanistan

Posted on 25 February 2012 by

We are sorry, Afghanistan, but we are giving up. Good bye. Not that I have a better solution. – Well, actually I have, but I’ll get to that in another blog post.

Posted in Afghanistan, Military, Politics | 4 Comments

Bücherverbrennungen hier und dort

Posted on 24 February 2012 by

Diese Woche haben US-Soldaten in Afghanistan aus Versehen ein paar Exemplare des Korans verbrannt, da die in den Gefängnissen dort ausliegenden Koran-Exemplare regelmäßig ausgetauscht werden, damit Gefangene keine Nachrichten darin hinterlassen können. Die Bevölkerung Afghanistans ist aufgebracht, entsetzt und wütend. … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, auf Deutsch, Books, Germany, History, Islam, Politics, Religion | Tagged | 9 Comments

Book Burnings, here and there

Posted on 24 February 2012 by

This week, US soldiers in Afghanistan accidentally burnt a few copies of the Quran because they regularly change the copies of the Quran that the prisoners there are allowed to use, in order to prevent messages being written into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Books, Germany, History, Islam, Politics, Religion | Tagged | 30 Comments