Free Range International

In the Helmand Province, this year’s fighting season has started off with a whimper.  On May Day (as predicted) the only action was in Paktika Province where a child suicide bomber violated the latest Taliban  public announcement by blowing himself up in a police station.  The Taliban had just announced they would no [...]

The killings in Mazar-i Sharif followed by rioting in Kandahar, Jalalabad and towns across the country are more than a little troubling.  Joshua Foust posted on the topic expressing concern about the viability of internationals remaining outside the wire which makes me concerned too because Joshua isn’t one to cry wolf..  Registan.net then [...]

The Godfather of Free Range International – the man who pioneered the techniques, tactics and procedures we use to travel in remote districts was executed last week in Badakhshan Province. Dan Terry was a good man. He was humble, self-effacing, and competent.  He lived in Afghanistan with his family and spoke fluent Dari and Pashto. [...]

Every now and then one stumbles across a story which illustrates deeply held convictions so well that you just have to share.   Here is one of those and it is a sad tale of incompetence, risk aversion and just plain clown like silliness.   It is amusing (I guess) but it is also so [...]

This blog post is a bit of a departure from FRI’s normal topics no embed reporting, no strategies on how to win the Global War on Terror (GWOT), no great empowerment projects (aka the Fablab) to talk of, but I hope you’ll find it interesting none the less.

 
Tim and I go back about [...]

Over the last couple of weeks I have been conducting a Regional Security Assessment throughout the Northern Region. I approached this task with minimal planning as far as geographical objectives were concerned. Since it was conducted by myself and my driver only, I didn’t feel the need to generate a formal and extensive  plan. A [...]

The Fab Lab team has arrived and is now hard at work. The logistics involved supporting their aggressive schedule is keeping me on the road for good bit of the New Year which helps explain the lack of activity on this blog. However things are calming down as Team Fab Lab hit its [...]

It was a regular Saturday night in Mazar-e-Sharif quiet, cold, yet comfortable as I say having dinner with a friend at one of the only restaurants catering to internationals the mighty Oak. We were passing the time with small talk. It was towards the end of our evening that my mate received a phone [...]

This is my first post on freerangeinternational, I think those who’ve read Tim’s posts would have come across my name a once or twice. At the moment I am up in Mazar-e-Sharif which is located in the north central part of the country… I am the ‘BOT’!
Two days ago, I traveled to Hairatan which is [...]

Mazar-i-Shariff is home to the Kala Jangi Fighter Fortress which was the scene of a famous battle in November 2001. Unfortunately I only have one picture of the fort’s exterior which does not do it justice. My good friend “The Cautious Citizen” and I were in the area on a site visit. He [...]