SIPRI Afghan Blog in Afghanistan...

Apologies for my absence, but for the last two weeks or so, sipriafghanblog has been in Faryab province (that’s north west Afghanistan) as a guest of the Norwegian PRT to see the work they are doing, how they do it, problems encountered and lessons learnt.  Sorry, that should read lessons identified.  This was an invaluable experience and requires a massive thanks to the men and women of the PRT, all of whom contributed in some way to making my stay comfortable, informative and safe.  For my part, I was able to contribute a presentation on Taliban propaganda activities and a showing of my “Carry On Up The Khyber” DVD…

This article will not be the sum total of my notes and conclusions, as I am still working through the hours of invaluable interviews and informal chats I had with PRT members.  Suffice for the moment to say that I saw examples of all the best aspects of PRT theory put into practise and also evidence of many of the problems besetting the PRT concept and the reasons for the criticisms directed at it.  I would also add that many of the problems are beyond the control of the PRT itself.  Although not particularly well known beyond the NATO communities, there is a developing insurgency problem on the Faryab/Badghis border which is of interest on many levels.

And if you wanted a very crude indicator of the way Afghanistan is going at the moment, when I arrived at Kabul airport all the flags were flying at half mast, and when I left they were in a similar position.  And I can actually only recall two days in my fortnight when they were at the top of the masts.    

More later…