Tuesday's Show (First Hour)

Hi guys. As promised, here's Tuesday's show. Better late than never, right? We begin on a forward operating base (FOB) where Anderson explains that the soldiers behind him are readying a howitzer to target IED's. He then intros us into a piece of his time on patrol with the soldiers and we get to see Anderson wearing a helmet that makes him look like he rode on the little bus to reporter school. Anderson also shows us marks on trees, which he explains are reference points for fighters to know where to fire to hit the FOB. As they're out on patrol the soldiers get intelligence that there might be fighters nearby ready to ambush. Luckily nothing ever materializes. Phew.

As we come back from break Anderson suddenly has his vest on. Uh oh. Although, I gotta say that watching this taped is a whole lot less nerve wracking than watching it live. It's like how I freaked a lot less watching taped Nic almost get killed in Darfur, than I did watching live Nic almost get killed in Ramadi. Nic seriously needs to stop almost getting killed. Anyway, speaking of Nic, next up we get a piece from him on Al Qaeda's production company As-Sahab Media. Oh yes, they have a production company. Nic explains that to make a tape all they need is a camera and then they give the tape to someone they trust who then distributes it to someplace like Al Jazeera. Or they can put it directly on the internet, which Nic demonstrates by going to a internet cafe. He asks us to, "imagine I'm Al Qaeda". Oh Nic, I can't do that. Then Nic ticks off all the places Al Qaeda could be uploading their videos. and I start to crack up because he's totally reminding me of Dr. Suess: "I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere."

Following Nic's piece we go back to Anderson and they're firing the howitzer. Man, that must be loud there. Nic and Peter join him. Peter and Anderson are all kevlared up, but Nic isn't. Or is he? Anderson wants to find out and asks, "Are you wearing your vest?" But before Nic can answer, Anderson totally pokes him in the chest and it goes "thunk". Bwah! Anderson it's sweet of you to be concerned about Nic, but don't be pulling that with Christianne. Anyway, the trio talk a bit about all the building that's going on in the country and Peter points out that that's the way to defeat the Taliban.

Next we throw back to the studio for headlines from John and then we get a piece by Anthony Mills on the recent US Embassy attack in Damascus. Apparently the Syrian govenment blames US policy for fueling the attacks. Anthony then joins us live to talk of the growing anti-American sentiment in the country.

On now to a piece by Anderson on Afghanistan's slipping morals. There are now brothals in Kabul and previously banned forms of entertainment like movies and music are prevalent. Actually the Afghans are really into wrestling and Jean Claude Van Damme. I think that after we bring these people peace and security we're also going to have to bring them some taste. Jean Claude Van Damme? Next they'll be gaga over Dr. Phil. Anyway, under the Taliban there was a department of Vice and Virtue that was extremely opressive and now Karzai is thinking about bringing it back in a more muted form. The Afghans are upset about the slipping morals, but they're afraid the government will go too far in the other direction.

Technical problems stick us with John for a moment, but then we get an interview with Sarah Chayes in Kansas City. Sarah is a reporter for NPR and has worked in the region. She believes Pakistan is trying to essentially buy the US off by capturing members of Al Qaeda, which then leaves them safe to let the Taliban do what they want. In her view they don't care about Al Qaeda because they are an international organization, whereas the Taliban can help destabilize Afghanistan, allowing Pakistan to control Afghanistan by proxy. Also noted is that under the Taliban things (governing) got done, but under Karzai they're not. And though there was corruption under the Taliban it was more controlled than it is under Karzai. Hmm. Not good.

Finally we have another Nic piece on how Pakistan has replaced Afghanistan as Al Qaeda central. The London bombers were in Pakistan before the attack and Nic goes to find that they are seen as heroes there. It is rumored the bombers originally came to fight in the battle for Kashmir, but were then convinced to do the attacks. Pakistan is the only Muslim country with the bomb. But it's okay, see, cuz they're our ally. Yeah, they just made a deal with the people most likely harboring Bin Laden, but they're our ally. Don't think about it too hard.

That's it for the first hour, which was great. The second hour has three repeats, but I'm not holding it against them since they're on location and a dangerous one at that. A-

Awesome screencaps by stormi0611.