If only those imperial powers had let the borders develop along ethnic and traditional lines, we might all be better off than our current haphazard system of borders arbitrarily drawn to strengthen the positions of the few and the wealthy. Many of the modern problems we see today, from ethnic conflict to the challenge of governance in Afghanistan can be traced directly back to the arbitrary nature of modern nation state borders. I guess we all had to agree to recognize some borders at some point in time, but we didn't do very well. Oh, and we really didn't ask many of the people that it impacted at the time either. Yugoslavia, the recent ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan (which looks to have been started by the ousted regime by the way), the ongoing Afghanistan/Pakistan/Iran/India disputes, and oh yeah, all those problems on the African continent.
I'll cut this little rant short, but before I do, perhaps we should consider a city-state model again. It works for Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong in the past, and even the Vatican. It would keep militaries necessarily small, encourage cooperation and trade, and even limit taxes to a much lower governmental level, which would appeal greatly to my libertarian ideals. Big governments, especially ours, have become way too distanced from and unaccountable to the people (Don't even get me started on the EU). But then, I'm a big fan of the 10th Amendment too, and think it may have even stopped a bit short. Maybe the founding fathers should have worded it "...are reserved to the People respectively, or to the States." This is a rich topic, but I'll move on for now.
Due to our influx in people, and a more security focused climate here in Afghanistan, we went to the firing range today at KMTC (Kabul Military Training Center). We had a few new M-16's we had to zero, and any excuse to shoot, er train, is usually good enough. The picture above is Larry (organizer of the girls' school assistance) making sure his reflex sights on his M4 are still on target. We all took turns with the new sights, and I'm hugely impressed. I've fired with them before and never cease to be amazed. Just put the red dot on the target, ignore the peep sites, and pull the trigger. The consistency is impressive. These sights are virtually parallax free, so your head and eye placement just don't matter. Red dot, target, exhale, squeeze, hit. Really nice. It is these types of technologies that soldiers really appreciate. I'd take a nice reflex sight on every soldiers' rifle over all our F-22's every day of the week, and twice on Sundays (Sorry Bob).
We left for KMTC about 1130, after the weekly staff meeting, morning coffee, email catch-up, and planning for the week. KMTC is an interesting place. You may notice that the big earthen feature we are shooting into is the same mountain I climbed a few weeks ago, the Gharib Ghar. This is the primary reason we had to be back off the mountain by 0800. It wouldn't be good for anyone to be on the trail after the firing ranges open.
Sorry for the blur on this picture, but if you look closely (click the picture for a large version), you can see two spent casing still in the air. We practiced a bit on our three round burst firing (boy does that short barrel heat up!). Contrary to popular opinion, it is quite possible to stay on target with every round while firing on burst. All of us were able to do it. Plus, it just feels better putting three rounds down range with every trigger pull. I wouldn't resort to it often, but it is comforting to know that it is only a thumb flip away. It is even more comforting to know that one can hit what they aim at (the classical definition of "gun control"). Even in burst.
I had to include just a few other pictures of KMTC. Like I said, it is an interesting place. Firing ranges on US bases don't have the same look. KMTC has piles and piles of tanks, APCs, and any other kind of blown up, burned, and mangled metal war machines you can think of, mostly old Soviet era stuff. It is sort of a bone yard for all the military equipment that has been destroyed in the country over the last 30 years. We are all hesitant to go and climb around on it, so I took some pictures from a ways off. You never know what kind of UXO could be lurking in these hulks.
This a closer view of the bombed out building in the background with a turret and APC closer to the foreground. Pretty dramatic images if you think about the background and stories that probably landed them here. Trust me, there are thousands and thousands of burned and blown up pieces of equipment littered all over KMTC. I have no idea how many other installations in Afghanistan exist with this much evidence of destruction, but just seeing this one sobers you more than a bit.
Back to a quick political commentary to end things off for the evening. That's how this blog entry started after all. While I was blathering on at the beginning I found a description of an interesting book titled "A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History" by Thomas Bender. It looks compelling after reading the authors essay and premises. However, it does argue against American Exceptionalism, which I still haven't decided upon one way or the other. I've had too many conflicting experiences so far in my life to take a firm stand on either side. As an American, it's comforting to think you are "Exceptional", and I'm deeply committed to the Constitutional foundations and principles that started the notion. However, I often come back to a profound piece of wisdom that my Father-In-Law shared with me. His Dad taught him "Never believe that you are better than anyone, but never believe that anyone is better than you either." This resonates with me often. Thanks for sharing it Jeep.
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