Hello,

I've made it back from the field and am at Kandahar Airbase. We had a brief press conference with Colonel Chris Vernon about Operation Mountain Thrust. You can listen to the audio here:

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006...th_colonel.php

Colonel Vernon is a straight shooter and calls it like he sees it. He has extensive experience in counterinsurgency in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. He didn't answer my question on Pakistan because this is a very sensitive issue. But the non-answer tells us plenty about the role Pakistan plays here in Afghanistan.

I have also attached two photos I did not publish on the website. In the first photo, you can see my gear on the tactical orange sleeping mat (it was a lender, mine "disappeared" somewhere between the flights from Newark to Kabul). But it does make a great backup Coalition friendly warning sign for wayward airstrikes! I wake up real early while in the field and was the only person awake when I took this photo. Also, note the soldiers sleeping all over the LAVs, including the stretcher on the back (that's considered bad luck for obvious reasons). In the second photo, you will see the Canadian G-Wagon, which the Taliban have had success in attacking due to its light armor.

Best wishes,

Bill Roggio