Word: perfectness
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...fact, a no-brainer, a perfect metaphor. The Taliban closed schools; the Americans opened them. That this particular school was located deep in the enemy heartland, in a district - Zhari - that was 80% controlled by the Taliban, an area the Russians called the Heart of Darkness and eventually refused to travel through, in a town that will be strategically crucial when the most important battle of the war in Afghanistan - the battle for Kandahar - is contested this summer, made it all the more perfect. (See pictures of the battle against the Taliban...
...military command. The 1/12 was hunkered down at its headquarters, a remote outpost called Forward Operating Base James Wilson, and the brass wanted it out securing the populace. Since the populace was concentrated in Senjaray, that seemed a logical place to start - and Jeremiah Ellis seemed the perfect candidate to lead the way. "He's one of the smartest officers we have," one of Ellis' superiors told me. "But he can take that enthusiasm a fair distance past the limits of standard Army procedures." (See pictures of a U.S. Marines' offensive in Afghanistan...
There was a two-story house across the eastern canal from the school that Ellis thought would be perfect, and we proceeded there carefully, in the dusty golden haze of late afternoon. The soldiers handed out pencils, plush toys and cheese crackers to the local kids, who gathered as the patrol snaked slowly through town. The kids, who had seen all these offerings many times before, weren't satisfied. "Qalam," they shouted, surrounding me. "Qalam...
...asked if Rahman could give us a tour of the property. He didn't reveal the purpose of the exploration; he didn't want to give the Taliban advance warning of his intentions. But, as Ellis expected, the roof of the compound was a perfect observation post. When the tour was done, he asked Rahman why he thought the Americans were in Afghanistan. The boy said he didn't know. Ellis asked if he had heard about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The boy said no. He asked what Rahman thought about the Americans. "I've heard that they...
...Some caution that expecting perfect elections is unrealistic in a country so precipitously balanced between war and peace. Neha Erasmus, the South Sudan coordinator for the advocacy group Justice Africa, says the decision to pull Arman from the race was a good one. By not contesting the presidential vote, she says, the SPLM refuses to endorse a flawed process but also avoids destabilizing relations with its partner in peace. (See "Omar al-Bashir: Sudan's Wanted...