What's Going on in Kabul?

Apparently, the State Department is all a twitter about reports that a 450-man private security group (ArmorGroup), contracted to provide security for the US Embassy in Kabul (that's Afghanistan for you UC Santa Cruz Community Studies students)are putting the security of the 1,000 person embassy in danger because of rowdy parties with lots of liquor, hookers and sex.

My first reaction was where are the Marine Guards, who typically provide security for US embassies, but perhaps, additional manpower is needed. Having served at the US Embassy in Bangkok in the 1970s and the US Consulate in Milan, I am familiar with parties at Marine Houses. You should have seen the Marine House in Bangkok on a Saturday night in the 1970s. How do I know? The big boys told me.

What really got my attention was the report that of the 450 man force, 300 are Nepalese Sherpas, who hardly speak English!!

Well, at any rate, our fearless Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton) is apparently "outraged" ("zero tolerance" is the term used by the DOS) at the utter immorality of it all and has ordered an investigation by DOS's Inspector General.

Of course, this is the same Hillary Clinton who as First Lady told interviewer Matt Lauer that there was a "vast right-wing conspiracy" afoot when the news came out about her husband playing "hide the baloney" with an intern in the Oval Office.

So 300 of the 450 guards at the US Embassy in Kabul are non-English-speaking Sherpas. I guess they come in handy if the embassy staff wants to go mountain climbing on the weekends.

It all comes down to this: The Secretary of State should be.......

"Fired".