You might like Left Right ‘Radio TV Mountain’ in the centre of Kabul seen from where the Kabul River cuts through the mountains creating the Deh Mazang gorge. In the first Anglo-Afghan War it was the site of a crucial skirmish and hasty retreat by badly outnumbered British cavalry Simon Norfolk 2011 Wasteland at the back of shops used as stabling for draught horses. In the distance is the Bala Hissar citadel, now home to an Afghan army base and mooring for one of the American blimps that carry electronic surveillance gear and cameras. Simon Norfolk 2011 ‘The Museum of the Jihad’ in Herat. In the centre of the tableau of anti-Soviet mujahedeen guerrillas is Ismail Khan, one-time Governor of Herat and minister in the national government. Mythologizing their role in the Jihad helps justify their control and Simon Norfolk 2011 Entrance to the vast City Star Hall complex of wedding halls, on the new bypass out near Kabul Airport. Simon Norfolk 2011 A dumping ground for an abandoned Russian-era bomber that has now been incorporated into the car park of ‘Shamshad TV’, a new media company supported heavily by American money. Simon Norfolk 2011 Historically, Kuchis were strongly pro-Taliban; feelings made more intense by being bombed by NATO off their traditional grazing lands in Helmand. They are allowed to set up camp here on Kabul’s periphery only because it is below a large, new Afghan Army Simon Norfolk 2011 Young women in the indoor skatepark of the NGO ‘Skateistan’, set up by American volunteers to help young Afghans improve their skateboarding and indoor rock-climbing skills. Simon Norfolk 2011 The crew and ground staff of the new independent operator, ‘Safi Airways’. Simon Norfolk 2011 Her Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador Sir William Charters Patey KCMG, his private secretary and his Nepalese mercenary security guards. Simon Norfolk 2011 Pakistani ‘Jingle Trucks’ end their long journey up from Karachi at the gates of Kandahar Air Field where they wait to be scanned, x-rayed and searched. Only people, ammunition and emergency requirements come by aircraft. Warlord-owned security companies Simon Norfolk 2011 A storage yard at Kandahar Air Field looking out beyond the wire, back into ‘Afghanistan’. Simon Norfolk 2011 Security lights and communications antennae at Camp Leatherneck. Simon Norfolk 2011
