Absence

Well, it has been almost a month since I have posted anything. You can blame it on lack of internet and in the past week, laziness. I travelled to Shah Joy district immediately after stepping off the chopper from Mizan. Shah Joy is the largest district in Zabul Province and the Taliban use this area as their main route from Pakistan and into Kandahar Province.

Here are some photos from my trip.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BULLARD, Afghanistan -- Shah Joy District Chief Abdul Qayum speaks to local elders during a shura near Forward Operating Base Bullard, Shah Joy District, Zabul Province, Sept. 2, 2010. Qayum spoke about the security in the area and the upcoming provincial parliamentary elections during the shura. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BULLARD, Afghanistan -- A young Afghan girl listens to a story from a Romanian soldier during a shura near Forward Operating Base Bullard, Shah Joy District, Zabul Province, Sept. 5, 2010. Shah Joy District Chief Abdul Qayum spoke with local elders about the upcoming provincial parliamentary elections. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BULLARD, Afghanistan -- Two young Afghan brothers embrace each other as Shah Joy District Chief Abdul Qayum speaks to elders during a shura near Forward Operating Base Bullard, Shah Joy District, Zabul Province, Sept. 7, 2010. Qayum spoke about the upcoming provincial parliamentary elections during the shura. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BULLARD, Afghanistan -- U.S. Soldiers assigned to 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, speak with children during a shura near Forward Operating Base Bullard, Shah Joy District, Zabul Province, Sept. 8, 2010. Shah Joy District Chief Abdul Qayum spoke with local elders to discuss the security in the district as well as the upcoming provincial parliamentary elections during the shura. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BULLARD, Afghanistan -- U.S. Army Pfc. Michael Conrad, a squad automatic weapon gunner for Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul and native of Bloomsburg, Pa., listens to two Afghan elders during a shura at the Shah Joy District Chief Abdul Qayum invited local elders to the district center to discuss the upcoming provincial parliamentary elections and to celebrate the end of Ramadan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BULLARD, Afghanistan -- Shoes belonging to Afghan elders sit outside an election shura at the Shah Joy District Center, Shah Joy District, Zabul Province, Sept. 13, 2010. Qayum invited local elders to the district center to discuss the upcoming provincial parliamentary elections and to celebrate the end of Ramadan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BULLARD, Afghanistan -- Afghan elders listen to Shah Joy District Chief Abdul Qayum during an election shura at the Shah Joy District Center, Shah Joy District, Zabul Province, Sept. 13, 2010. Qayum invited local elders to the district center to discuss the upcoming provincial parliamentary elections and to celebrate the end of Ramadan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BULLARD, Afghanistan -- Young Afghan girls listen as Shah Joy District Chief Abdul Qayum speak to local elders during a shura near Forward Operating Base Bullard, Shah Joy District, Zabul Province, Sept. 15, 2010. Qayum spoke about the upcoming provincial parliamentary elections during the shura. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)