THE ROAD TO KANDAHAR

SEPTEMBER 12-16TH

Greetings from the Republic of Kyzgyrstan, one of the many "stans" in this region(One can blame the British for carving up this central Asian region).

Anyhow...


We have been in Bishek since Friday awaiting a flight to take us to Kandahar, A-stan.
I feel that mercury in retrograde has had a hand in this longer stay. Days have been spent sleeping/thinking/doing physical training/eating/making phone calls/sending emails and hanging out at the base internet cafe.

The locals are a mixture of Asians who can be traced back to Ghengis Khan and various ethnic Russians. I heard that the diversity is even greater in Afghanistan. I am reminded by that iconic photo from National Geographic from the late 70's of that young Afghan girl with striking eyes.
A few days ago, I met a private contractor-whom I'll call "Luke Cage" from Bed-Stuy- confirming that there's always somebody from Brooklyn wherever you go. He trains Special Forces and has been in A-stan for about 2 years. There's a great doc about how many brothers are in this private contractor arena over here.

"Luke Cage" had some cool Kemetic/hieroglyphic tattoos and was rocking a gold tooth. Forearms like Popeye. He'd make a great character actor/security advisor and consultant for film/TV. I made sure to get his info. I asked him about the Taliban. He said that they are a fraud to the Islamic religion and are a bunch of animals. He briefly described some of the atrocities that the Taliban did to some of his Afghan friends. But he did say that they are crazy/driven enough to die for what they believe in. Basically- don't sleep on them fools.

Heard. Understood. Acknowledged.


We are leaving sometime today and then it's game on. The BBC did a 6 part series on life at Kandahar NATO base that might be found online. I saw snippets of it and the place is it's own city/suburb-although a crowded one. Hopefully/prayerfully our living situation won't be too ghetto.

We can't take photos around Bishek for operational security issues. I will post some photos once I get situated in Kandahar.