3 Dogs

As part of a 3 one hour series of adventure programmes, veteran war correspondant John Simpson, Adventurer Sir Ranulf Feinnes and RKJ went to Afghanistan in September 2008.      4 days were spent in and around Kabul, interviewing President Karsai and a failed Pakistani suicide bomber,  as well as visiting check points with the Afghan Army.     The trio then drove down to Jalababad with the Speaker of the Parliament, met village elders, the regional Governor, and visited the Afghan end of the Khyber pass before taking a two day trip to an isolated Police post close to the Parkistan border near the Tora Bora cave complex with a heavy Border Police escort. The strong impression after two weeks in the country is that the huge aid effort is not reaching the villagers who can notice the Talaban becoming stronger and can see no benefit coming to themselves  as a result of the large western military and aid programmes.    In many of the villages visited there still is not even running water,electricity, clinic or school.      British, Canadian,French  and US soldiers are daily risking their lives, but if the population cannot be won over by improving their conditions, one wonders what the ultimate purpose of this sacrifice can be.