So I’ve been away for a while. Doing what, I’m not really sure. It wasn’t terribly important, but it wasn’t a total waste of time either. I imagine. Anyway, it’s unclear how often I’ll be updating this site because there are other matters to attend to most of the time, and posting to my personal blog is usually rather low on the to do list. If you’re feeling bored or lonely, though, there are still a couple other places to look for solace.
The Red Team Tumblr is more than So Much This could ever hope to be, because it’s group genius instead of just my ideas.
Also, I’m co-hosting a radio show now with my friend and colleague Bronwyn. It’s called Thunk Tank and you can listen live on 91.1 WFMU every Tuesday from 6-7 pm, or get the podcast here.
This is a pretty amazing piece of journalism that accomplishes what the best storytelling does: it makes the Other familiar. Members of the insurgency, the big scary Islamic Extremists magically become human when they’re shown sleeping, eating, complaining about being cold, and bickering. In the end, I’m still just left shaking my head and muttering, “What a clusterfuck,” but maybe with a bit more insight now. I think the most remarkable aspect of the insurgency that’s revealed here is what a mess it is. I knew, of course, that like all insurgencies, it’s DIY all the way with people pouring handfulls of gunpowder into an empty shell to make IED’s, but what I didn’t realize is that like all DIY efforts, shit’s breaking all the time. Bomb’s fail to explode, lookouts are incompetent and yet they’ve still held the coalition at bay for almost a decade. People are digging up weapons they buried after the Soviets left–just in case someone else invaded–and now those RPGs are being shot at Americans. It’s wild.
This video, though shot in Pakistan, also helps explain why Af-Pak is unwinnable.
