Thankfully, inauguration day was relatively very quiet. There were lots of pre-event threats and a few actual attacks unfortunately in other provinces, but nothing happened in Kabul city. I imagine most Americans won’t think too much of the non-attacks and safety of the day. As Americans, we assume a high standard of safety. We realize that something bad ‘could’ have happened during the inauguration. We understand that Afghanistan is a war zone after all. But here in Kabul, we, ISAF in support of the Afghan government and Security Forces, were expecting that something ‘would’ happen. For the past several weeks, every sub-organization in ISAF did a LOT of coordination to help the Afghans plan and execute an effective security plan for the inauguration. And a lot of credit should go to the Afghan government and Security Forces. They led the way in executing the plan and the fact that no attack happened is a huge victory for the government. The more competent the Afghan government is in protecting its people, the more confidence those people will have in their government. And in classic counterinsurgency terms, that is what will win the war against the Taliban.

“Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, swears in his first Vice President Qasim Fahim, left, and his second Vice President Karim Khalili during his inauguration as President of Afghanistan at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009.” Noticing the different ethnic, traditional head dresses alone, you can see how diverse the Afghan government leadership is.

Yes, President Karzai did rock the purple and green robe. Actually, it’s an Uzbek chapan and it’s his signature look.Speaking of colorfully robes…did you see Secretary Clinton’s inauguration day coat? I think it’s kind of a nod to traditional Central Asian fashion, with Fall (Thanksgiving?) colors. Without trying to be too much of a fashion police, I think it was a nice gesture for the occasion.

And speaking of Secretary Clinton…they made the announcement yesterday evening that anyone who wanted to see the Secretary could go to the passenger terminal where she would be departing soon. Now, I’m not a Democrat or typically a fan of the Clintons, but she is the current Secretary of State, so I figured go check it out. It’s not that often that the average American gets to see a cabinet member up close. She spoke to the troops for about five minutes, stressing the importance of the mission that we and our allies are doing, the goal of training the Afghans to lead in the security and governance of their own country, and thanking the service members AND their families back home for serving and sacrificing time away from loved ones to carry out the mission. It seemed heart-felt. Then she made a pass down the front row of people to shake hands and have a few pictures taken. I was close to the front, but not close enough to get my picture taken with her; I didn’t feel like fighting through the crowd. Again, I’m not THAT big of a personal fan. Below is a picture from the US Embassy’s Flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kabulpublicdiplomacy/) of the event. (I was about 2 more people deep to the right of this picture.)