note from dad. i now hate obama more, didn't know that was possilbe.

Here the Taliban are showing no discernment between schoolchildren or UN workers--they kill randomly--the weakest and those with no defenses. This is what they've always done. I saw a documentary yesterday that was filmed by my head of photography a few years ago. It contains some never-before released scenes of the Taliban's oppression--really horrible and oppressive people. They are not originally from Afghanistan--they are from Saudi Arabia--and are a relatively new philosophy--inspired directly by Osama Bin Laden. The US must not allow them to regain any kind of leadership role in Afghanistan or they will take over Pakistan--which gives nucear weapons to Al Qaida--and then look-out China, India, Russia, and any US interests. Pakistan has deep-water submarines that are nuclear-armed--so the US would be a sitting duck. Clinton's latest brow-beating of Pakistan's leadership--weak as they are--was a deep insult to a nation that has only recently begun to truly spill its own blood in combat with the Taliban--before they didn't have the leadership that was willing to do much. For her to be throwing salt on their wounds when they have just sent 40,000 troops into one region that is in the US' interest to drive out the Taliban and then to be insulted by her in the eyes of the world is going to do irreperable harm to US interests in the region. She has forgotten why we're here--it's about the nuclear weapons and preventing real terrorism from spreading to the west. 9/11 will look like a day at the beach if Al Qaida gets power in Pakistan.

Sorry for the lecture--but maybe some of your influential friends might find this perspective interesting.

The work at the station continues to go well. The disruptions due to the Taliban have been frustrating to everyone--but we're doing OK. My guest house is about 250 meters away from the UN's--but it's 3 streets over, so though the gun battle was tense--it even went up and down our road--it wasn't a direct threat to us here. We have only 4 guests here and are well-guarded--so there is little likelihood that the Taliban would target us. Right now the media aren't targeted by them because they need the reports from us to keep the rest of the nation tense.