Kabul Green Zone
Politico: The Man Who Thought He Could Fix Afghanistan
To get something done in Afghanistan, you need to know Scott Guggenheim. But even the ultimate fixer isn’t sure anyone can solve the country’s problems.
KABUL—On November 9, 2016, Scott Guggenheim, a longtime American adviser to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, rose early with the sun, got into an armored vehicle and headed across Kabul’s fortified Green Zone to the U.S. Embassy. Afghanistan is 8½ hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States, and the American expatriates, Afghan elites and others who had managed to scare up invitations had gathered in the basement of the embassy—a city block-sized, blast-resistant compound as charmless as it is spotless—to watch the results of the American presidential election. The basement was dominated by State Department employees, who are officially barred from political activism while living abroad but tend to support Democrats; some, anticipating a Hillary Clinton victory, were even calling the occasion a party. On the wall hung a Donald Trump piñata.
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WNU Editor: The part of this article that caught my attention was this ....
.... The basement was dominated by State Department employees, who are officially barred from political activism while living abroad but tend to support Democrats; some, anticipating a Hillary Clinton victory, were even calling the occasion a party. On the wall hung a Donald Trump piñata.
By midmorning Kabul time, however, Trump had taken a commanding lead, and the mood in the embassy basement began to shift. Ties came undone, breakfast Danishes were anxiously devoured, and under the red, white and blue bunting, a stunned silence settled in. The cover band that had been playing earlier packed up its instruments. Some of the diplomats were typing furiously on their BlackBerrys. Others stepped outside to smoke, leaving behind a more Trump-friendly crowd of uniformed soldiers and veterans who had returned to Afghanistan as private contractors.
No wonder the White House does not trust the State Department.
Hat tip to Instapundit for the above link.
One story I heard about being in Afghanistan involved a city that was allied with the Americans. The locals had an outpost/lookout on the top of a nearby hill. Occasionally, the locals stationed at the outpost would get bored and shoot down amongst their American allies. Repeated pleas to stop the random sniping went unheeded. It was ultimately a low pass from a B-52 through the valley that brought the argument home.
ReplyDeleteThese are people that live to fight. Their motto is my tribe against the nation, my clan against the tribe, my family against the clan, my brother and I against the family, me against my brother.
The state Dept has often gone its own way, ie refugees from Europe barred if Jews fleeing Nazis
ReplyDeleteGlenn would focus on this as perceived anti trumpism
state dept workers tend to favor? poll, study?
Workers for that dept depend on their jobs from the person who becomes president and so of course they have preferences.
I believe the state dept was and remains seriously understaffed since Trump took office