Kabul, Afghanistan      September 11th, 2006

Each of you reading this article has come to reflect upon this day in your own terms. I am writing this from my home in Kabul, Afghanistan and reside here as a direct result of the attacks of this day five years ago. All I knew about Afghanistan then was that the Soviet Red Army lost for the first time here and that here began the seeds of discontent that led to dissolution of Soviet communism.

I will eagerly return to the United States in 25 days. I have been here for six months and have reached some observations & conclusions.

The vast majority of Afghan people detest Osama Bin Laden and everything he stands for. They have suffered as a result of his actions and those of his protectors, the Taliban. Like most of us, people here desire to raise their children in peace, feed their families and enjoy life to a modest degree. To this day, the people I have met in Afghanistan are extremely thankful to Americans for the will and sacrifice made that grant them their freedom; yet fully understand the primary reason we and others are here. From my elite athletes I coach to the Fizi family that has taken me as their own to the children I see mulling through trash just outside my front door each day, each has suffered & nearly all fled the country to Pakistan as a result of the Taliban’s reign of terror.

Many of the older men I know bravely fought the Soviets in the 80’s with antiquated weaponry and no shoes until support from the West arrived. They incurred heavy losses in defense of their homeland. They lost their greatest leader, Massoud, two days before 9/11. He was the most instrumental commander in the defeat of the Soviets and had been forced into the Hindu-Kush Mountains as Afghanistan divided in lines between the Taliban & the Northern Alliance. Bin Laden knew full well the danger of this man and assassinated him on order to prevent the Northern Alliance form uniting against them. We know the outcome. To this day, with the help of US and NATO forces, the Afghan people continue to flight to remove this human disease from their nation. As I have mentioned before, the Taliban fall into the same category as the Nazi’s & Stalinists in imprisoning a nation.

The fellow countrymen and women I have met here are all people of commitment and resolve. Many have come to rebuild Afghanistan while others come to serve and train the people in its security. Americans here are working to improve water quality, build sustainable agriculture, open schools & clinics and are building roads & bridges. While you read about the military in Afghanistan, the use of the carrot is accomplishing a great deal more than you can imagine in transforming this nation from a breeder of terrorists to a self-sustaining country. Like all other great undertakings, it takes time and effort. Post war Europe was not reconstructed in a couple of years and this land will take longer as the infrastructure needs to be built for the first time. If in doubt of continued presence in this place, remember what you were doing five years ago today, what you saw, and the unsettled feeling that the attacks of that day were just the first wave of assaults. It originated here. I still fly over the camp where the plans for mass murder were laid. It still repulses me each time I see it.

In fighting the perpetrators of terror and helping the common man earn a living in Afghanistan, many of the seeds of terror originating from this nation are exterminated. The war on terror cannot be described in sound bites. The solution encompasses military, police, covert and humanitarian wings. In Afghanistan, we are doing the right thing.

I began today with a mile walk through the neighborhoods of Kabul with a visiting boss for coffee. On our return home, hundreds of scarf wearing little girls were heading home from the morning session of school. Five years ago today, school for girls was forbidden. Three days ago, the people that want to deny that right exploded a major bomb one mile from my house targeting an American led convoy. Two American servicemen were killed. Twenty-seven Afghani’s died along with scores of injured. This struggle continues.

Give thanks for your blessings this day and take note that in America, we can raise our children in peace, feed our families & can enjoy life to a modest degree.

JLH

Coaches and a special Olympian

Shapoor and son

She was digging in the trash near Luken's home

Thankful