View From Atop My Villa

The Earth Moved -- Again 4.4 Magnitude Quake

Magnitude 4.4 - CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN
2010 May 27 01:29:58 UTC
Versión en Español
DetailsSummaryMapsScientific & TechnicalEarthquake Details
Magnitude 4.4
Date-Time Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 01:29:58 UTC
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 05:59:58 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 33.952°N, 68.348°E
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN
Distances 100 km (60 miles) SW of KABUL, Afghanistan
200 km (125 miles) WSW of Jalalabad, Afghanistan
300 km (185 miles) W of Peshawar, Pakistan
325 km (200 miles) SSE of Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 13.1 km (8.1 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters NST= 19, Nph= 19, Dmin=91.6 km, Rmss=1.09 sec, Gp=130°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)


Event ID us2010wuaf

Pictures of Apartment -- Furniture

Another Blast in Kandahar

Car bomb hits outside NATO base in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan
Associated Press
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A car bomb exploded Wednesday outside a small NATO military base in southern Afghanistan's largest city, wounding two Afghans and destroying several cars, police said.
It was the latest in a string of bold attacks on high-profile NATO targets in the past two weeks, following a Taliban announcement of a spring offensive against alliance and Afghan forces — their response to the Obama administration's vow to squeeze the militants out of Kandahar province strongholds.
The blast occurred around 11:30 a.m. in a parking lot used by Afghans visiting Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar city, said Gen. Shafiq Fazli, the police commander for southern Afghanistan. The base houses a few hundred Canadian soldiers, along with American military police and U.S. and Canadian government employees working on development projects.
Fazli said no one was killed. A police officer said at least one security guard and one Afghan who works at the base were wounded. The officer gave only one name, Khalid.
Wednesday's blast destroyed 11 cars that were parked in the lot, along with about 50 motorcycles and more than a dozen bicycles, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The bomb was placed in a Toyota Corolla in the lot, it said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
People reached by phone inside Camp Nathan Smith said they had been ordered into bunkers but that the area appeared quiet since the explosion. They spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the attack had not been released.
The string of attacks began on May 18, when a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy in the capital, killing 18 people including six NATO service members — five Americans and a Canadian.
The next day, dozens of Taliban militants attacked the main U.S. military base, Bagram Air Field, killing an American contractor in fighting that lasted more than eight hours.
Then on Saturday, insurgents firing rockets, mortars and automatic weapons tried to storm Kandahar Air Field, NATO's main base in the south. Kandahar Air Field is about 20 kilometers outside of the city, while Camp Nathan Smith is in downtown Kandahar.
In eastern Nuristan province, police have been battling hundreds of insurgents for four days, officials said. At least seven militants and one police officer have died so far in the fighting in Nuristan's Barg-e-Matal district, the Interior Ministry said in statement.
The insurgents attacked the district government building on Sunday and a small police force has been trying to keep them at bay since then, said Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangulbagh, the provincial police chief.
"There are many fewer police than attackers but we have the locals helping us," Jangulbagh said, explaining that villagers have grabbed their guns and joined the police in the fight. He said police have asked for reinforcements, but none has arrived yet.
Nuristan Gov. Jamaludin Badar said they also have asked NATO forces for help.

Life is Good

Today is the first day of my second year. Looking forward to going home in a few weeks for some R&R. My driver almost got into a fight last night when we were going through a check point. One of the people in the car didn't have a badge so they turned us around. My friend tried to get out of the car to object and he told him to stay in the car or he'd kick the door in. The other day an ANP officer shot two people that got into a fight after a car accident.

This morning one of the guys in my house was headed to work and he was stopped and frisked by the ANP, and they checked his battle armor to see if it was armor plates or C-4 explosive. I told him he should quit dressing like a terrorist (he has dark skin from NY): DWT -- driving while terrorist.

Makes life interesting -- this morning we were in a traffic jam with some donkey carts. People here are certified nutty drivers. There are no traffic laws. They drive down any side of the street they want -- if they want you to get out of their way they lay on the horn. People just walk out into the street in and amongst the traffic. You have to be an offensive/defensive driver to make it here.

Happy Anniversary

Today I have been in theater for 1 year. Got to Kuwait on Memorial Day 25 May 2009. I left home on 15 May 2009 and went to CRC for training. I plan on being here at least another year. I am enjoying my stay and look forward to the coming year(s).

More Furniture Shopping

Went shopping again last night and got a bookcase and stuffed chair. It is nice taking my local national friend with me he can barter for the best price -- norally they see an American and they see full price. This country is so desolate -- I see the poverty when I go out on the economy. It breaks my heart. I will do all I can to help the people of Afghanistan. They are such gracious people and are gratful for anything they get from you. They are also willing to help you in any way.

Taliban Claims Responsibility for Attack on NATO Base in Afghanistan

Associated Press
Several coalition troops and civilian employees were wounded in the assault Saturday night, but there were no reports of deaths, officials said.
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban claimed responsibility Sunday for a nighttime assault on NATO's biggest base in southern Afghanistan. Insurgents firing rockets, mortars and automatic weapons tried to storm Kandahar Air Field -- the second such attack on a major military installation this week.
Several coalition troops and civilian employees were wounded in the assault Saturday night, but there were no reports of deaths, officials said.
A Canadian Press news agency report from Kandahar said artillery and machine gun fire reverberated through the base, about 300 miles southwest of Kabul, several hours after the attack began. Militants unleashed rockets and mortars about 8 p.m. and then tried unsuccessfully to storm the northern perimeter, officials said.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told the Associated Press that its fighters attacked the base from two sides and fired more than 15 rockets.
It was the third major attack on NATO forces in Afghanistan in six days.
The attacks follow a Taliban announcement of a spring offensive against NATO forces and Afghan government troops -- their response to a promise by the Obama administration to squeeze the Taliban out of their strongholds in the southern province of Kandahar.
On Tuesday, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy in the capital, killing 18 people including six NATO service members including five Americans and a Canadian. The next day, dozens of Taliban militants attacked the main U.S. military base -- Bagram Air Field -- killing an American contractor in fighting that lasted more than eight hours.
On Saturday night, at least five rockets struck the Kandahar base in the initial attack, said Navy Cmdr. Amanda Peterseim, a spokeswoman for NATO forces at the base. Witnesses said explosions continued through much of the night. There were no reports of deaths and Peterseim did not have the precise number of wounded.
"The alarm has been sounding for several hours, but no insurgents have penetrated the base perimeter," NATO said in a statement. It said "a number" of military and civilian personnel were wounded "and are receiving medical treatment. There are no confirmed fatalities."
NATO said troops and civilians were told to remain in bunkers as a precaution.
Peterseim did not know how many insurgents launched the attack but said they did not appear to be wearing suicide vests, as had many of those who stormed the Bagram Air Field north of Kabul on Wednesday. In addition to the U.S. contractor's death, 16 militants were killed and five attackers were captured in the Bagram assault.
Rocket attacks against the Kandahar base, located about 10 miles south of Kandahar city, are not uncommon. But ground assaults against such large facilities as Kandahar and Bagram are rare. Two attacks in the same week show that the militants are capable of complex operations despite NATO military pressure.
Kandahar Air Field is the launching pad for thousands of additional U.S. forces pouring into the country for a summer surge against the Taliban.
Attacks in the south earlier Saturday killed three NATO service members -- one American, one French and one Dutch -- and an Afghan interpreter. That brought to 997 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began in October 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The Dutch death toll in Afghanistan now is 24 and the French toll is 42.
A loudspeaker announcement at the Kandahar base said the ground attack was coming from the north, said Maura Axelrod, a reporter with HDNet who was inside the base. She said she could hear heavy outgoing fire and that commanders had come into the bunker where she had taken cover to order all Marines with weapons to help in establishing a security perimeter.
An Afghan named Najibullah who works with a private security company on the base said that he heard rockets hitting for about half an hour. He only gave one name.
NATO's current push is aimed at winning over the population in Taliban-friendly areas by establishing security and bolstering the local government. However, each military strike has created potential for backlash amid arguments about who is truly an insurgent.
In the latest such incident, at least a dozen people were killed south of the capital Saturday after U.S. troops spotted two insurgents trying to plant bombs, an Afghan official said.
The two were shot dead in Paktia province, district chief Gulab Shah said. Troops saw comrades drag the two bodies away and called in a helicopter gunship which killed 10 more people, whom U.S. officials said were all militants, Shah said.
Shah said Afghan authorities will investigate to make sure the dead were all insurgents.
Civilian deaths are a flash-point issue in Afghanistan, where President Hamid Karzai has urged NATO to take all necessary measures to protect civilian lives.
More than eight years into the war in Afghanistan, international support is also weakening.
The defense minister of Britain's new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government met with Karzai in Kabul on Saturday and said he hopes to speed the withdrawal of British troops.
Defense Secretary Liam Fox is quoted in Saturday's edition of The Times newspaper he "would like the forces to come back as soon as possible," and wants to see if it is possible to speed the training of Afghan troops.

Furniture Shopping For My Apartment

Well I moved into my new apartment off post last Saturday and the only furnniture in the room was a bed. So I decided to by a desk/offcie chair, and a chair, and dresser, and end tables. Thankfully I had my Afghan friend scout out what I wanted ahead of time and get a price so when I came back with him the price didn't escalate to the US price.

I had it delivered the next day. You are supposed to not deliver anything in commercial trucks on our street but $5 bribes at each check point and wala I had my furniture at home delivered.

Kind of scarry -- I guess the Taliban could do that too -- doesn't give you a secure feeling.

Taliban Attack Bagram Air Field

Taliban attack key US base in Afghanistan

AFP/File – US soldiers from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force patrol near Bagram Air Base. Taliban …
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer Robert H. Reid, Associated Press Writer – Wed May 19, 1:59 pm ET
KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban insurgents armed with rockets, grenades and suicide vests stormed the giant U.S.-run Bagram Air Field before dawn Wednesday, triggering an eight-hour firefight that killed an American contractor and at least 10 attackers and wounded nine U.S. service members.
As troops and contractors huddled in secure bunkers, the militants fired their weapons over American defenses into the base, according to Maj. Virginia McCabe, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces at Bagram. White smoke could be seen rising from the garrison as U.S. attack helicopters whirred overhead.
It was the second major Taliban assault in the Kabul area in as many days, breaking a nearly three-month lull in insurgent attacks around the Afghan capital. Eighteen people, including five U.S. soldiers and a Canadian colonel, were killed Tuesday in a suicide car bombing in Kabul.
Those brazen assaults underscore the militants' ability to strike at the heart of the U.S.-led mission and appear part of a new Taliban offensive against NATO forces, foreign diplomats, contractors and Afghan government officials. The attacks are expected to serve as a morale booster for insurgents and their supporters as the U.S. prepares for a major operation against the Taliban in their southern heartland.
The Taliban announced their offensive this month on the eve of President Hamid Karzai's visit to Washington. On that trip, Karzai discussed long-term ties with the United States and his government's attempts to reach out to the militants, including the Taliban leadership. The latest attacks suggest the Taliban are rejecting Karzai's agenda, including peace overtures.
U.S. officials said about 30 insurgents — some wearing military-style uniforms — launched the attack about 3 a.m. against the gates of the Bagram base, one of the biggest and most important military installations in the country. The base is located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Kabul.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, who telephoned reporters before the U.S. announced the attack, said 20 to 30 fighters breached the defenses of the base, which serves as the control hub for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the attackers "were not successful in penetrating the perimeter." He told reporters in Washington that some of the attackers were wearing suicide vests but were killed by U.S. forces before they could detonate them.
Whitman said one civilian contractor was killed and nine service members were wounded.
An Afghan provincial police commander, Gen. Abdul Rahman Sayedkhail, said the attack began when U.S. guards spotted militants in a car just outside the base. The Americans opened fire, triggering running gunbattles in which at least one militant triggered his suicide vest and U.S. troops hunted down the other attackers.
Four of the slain insurgents had intended to be suicide bombers, U.S. forces said in a statement.
At one point, residents of the area discovered a militant hiding in a garden, said Lutf Rahman Reshad, an Afghan police official. They called police, but the attacker lobbed grenades at the officers who arrived. The police fired at the man, who then detonated his explosives vest. The insurgent was wearing what appeared to be a military-style uniform, Reshad said.
At least 10 of the insurgents died, according to McCabe. Five were killed by helicopter gunships, Reshad said.
The militants' use of uniforms recall a January 2007 attack in Iraq, when Shiite insurgents wearing American uniforms and carrying American weapons slipped into an Iraqi police compound in Karbala, kidnapped four U.S. soldiers and then killed them about 25 miles away. A fifth American soldier was killed in a firefight at the compound.
Wednesday was not the first time militants have attacked Bagram. In February 2007, a suicide bombing killed more than 20 people at a Bagram security gate while then-Vice President Dick Cheney was inside the base. Cheney was unhurt but the Taliban said he was the target.
Bagram Air Field — the control hub for U.S. forces in Afghanistan — is a sprawling complex of more than 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) filled with offices, barracks, runways and weaponry in the shadow of the Hindu Kush mountains. The base operates almost like a small town, with paved roads, bus service and hospital facilities.
The attacks in the Kabul area, in eastern Afghanistan, come as the U.S. is focusing resources on the country's south. NATO and Afghan forces are gearing up for a major operation to secure Kandahar, the biggest city in the south and the former Taliban headquarters. American officials believe control of Kandahar is the key to stabilizing the Taliban' southern heartland.
NATO reported that an international service member was killed in a bomb attack Wednesday in southern Afghanistan but gave no further details.
At least 994 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan since the war began in 2001, according to an Associated Press count.
NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan said recent Taliban attacks have not delayed the Kandahar operation or any of NATO's key goals over the next few months.
"The overall campaign is on track" Mark Sedwill told reporters. He stressed that the Kandahar operation will not be a quick-strike offensive like this past winter's push into the town of Marjah in neighboring Helmand province.
Since the Taliban is not in complete control of Kandahar city and its surrounding villages, the first stage of the mission is meetings with local leaders, he said. Then NATO forces expect to launch a series of operations over weeks or months to establish security.
"I believe that by the end of this year we will be able to demonstrate that we have the initiative and the momentum is with us," Sedwill said.
___
Associated Press Writers Amir Shah, Rahim Faiez and Heidi Vogt in Kabul and Anne Flaherty in Washington contributed to this report.

Explosion in South/West Kabul

20 die in Afghanistan suicide blast
May 18th, 2010 - 3:01 pm ICT by IANS -
Kabul, May 18 (DPA) At least 20 deaths were reported Tuesday in a suicide bombing that was carried out in front of the US-founded Counterinsurgency Academy in Kabul, security officials said.
An Afghan army officer at the scene who did not want to be named said 20 people, including eight Americans, were killed.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said, however, that 12 Afghan civilians were killed in the blast and 47 injured. Most of them were travelling on a bus that was hit by the blast during the morning rush hour, it said.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said there had been deaths but did not give details of numbers or nationalities.
ISAF spokesman Brigadier Josef Blotz said the bomb had killed “plenty of soldiers and an even larger number of civilians” but said it was too early for concrete details.
“ISAF Joint Command is working with our Afghan partners to assess an explosion that took place this morning on the Darulaman Road in Kabul,” a NATO statement said.
Mistari Daoud, a witness who was working at a nearby construction site, said four Afghan workers died in the incident. He said one US military vehicle and nine other vehicles were destroyed.
The blast occurred in western Kabul at the Counterinsurgency Academy situated in Camp Julien near parliament and other government buildings. Afghan and US troops are quartered in the camp.
The attack happened as President Hamid Karzai was scheduled to hold a press conference after his recent visit to the United States.
The ISAF said police had cordoned off the area and an investigation would be conducted.

Furniture Shopping and Other Stuff

I plan on going furniture shopping for some things for my apartment this afternoon -- however, my plans may change because of the IED incident at Camp Jullien (South of Kabul).

My driver picked me up today a little late as they were stopped coming to pick me up by the ANP looking for explosives in the car.  Guess I have to be a little flexible on being timely.  My guard at the Villa wouldn't let me go out on the street until my ride arrived.

Had a good Family Home Evening last night -- had the Sacrament for those that missed it on Friday and then watched the talk by Boyd K. Packer from General Conference.  Then we played cards.  What a variety of activities.  Then I walked home from the base.

The 144th MED Unit from the Utah National Guard are here at Eggers now.  Increased our numbers dramatically -- we have over 70 members in the branch now.

It has been raining here every afternoon this week.  Should stop tomorrow ad warm up to the upper 80s.  Has been in the 70s for quite a while.

Life on the Outside

I walked home yesterday -- uneventful.  However, when I got to the Villa where I live the guards didn't recognize me and wouldn't let me on the compound.  So I had to call my POC for the Villa and he came out and told the guards to let me in.

I am enjoying the walks to/from work but it is more exercise than I am used to -- it takes 15 minutes to walk to work.

Tomorrow I will have the car/driver pick me up.  We have hired a car and driver to take us to/from work.  It's not an armored vehicle but should be all right in the "Green Zone".

My alarm clock (the rooster next door) is getting me up on time (4:10 am).  His life may be in danger if he keeps it up.

The first day I moved in and got things put away.  The next day I started hooking all the electronics up.  Should be up and running in a few days.  I only have a bed in my apartment so I may need to go buy some furniture (desk, office chair and chair).

The water is not potable -- they found that out by brushing their teeth using the water from the well.  So now they chlorinate it but they aren't sure if they got the quantities right and no one wants to test it to be sure.

The first night I couldn't stand the cigarette smoke -- they are only supposed to smoke in their rooms.  I complained and it was a lot better the next day.

I've moved off Base

Yesterday afternoon I left work and took my house boy with me to move my stuff out of the hooch I lived in.  It took about an hour to pack everything up.  The friend of mine from the Branch that lives where I will now live came over with the car and picked me up -- it only took two trips and I was moved in.  Then we went and picked up another guy that is moving in that I work with.  He came over and looked around and then we dropped him off back at work.  I went to ISAF with two of the guys I live with for dinner and then I walked back to my apartment.  It was a little scary walking along the streets of Kabul at night -- I was still in the green zone though.

When I got back to the apartment the guards kind of looked at me funny like -- who are you and I said I live here now -- I just moved in.  So they let me in.

I settled in for the night and set the alarm to wake me up -- not needed, the roster next door woke me up crowing at the top of his lungs at 4:10 am.  So I got up at my regular time and got ready for work -- only took 20 minutes vice the 30 minutes in the apartment because I didn't have to walk down the hall to the shower or get dressed in the dark -- sped things up.

Then I proceeded to walk to work.  Took 14 minutes and had to go by 17 guard shacks to get to work -- talk about secure.  Only got stopped once while they figured out whether they would let me walk the street.  Then one guard came out and told me I was walking on the wrong side of the road (the side closest to the Presidential palace), so I crossed the street and everything was OK.

The walk to and from work should help the waist line -- we are working on hiring a car/driver to take us to/from work.  Life is good!!!!!

More House Hunting

House Hunting

Went house hunting for a place to live off post.

Gayla's Family Reunion -- Nick and Carol's Homecoming Speech