Behind the scenes in Afghanistan.

This was a fascinating look behind the scenes at the American military in Afghanistan. However, what has really stuck in my mind from reading the book, were the observations by the author, of cultural practices amongst the Afghan people.

AnnaMaria Cardinalli was responsible for gaining the trust of the local population and discovering how cultural practices impacted on the work the military was attempting to do in the area. It is very easy for serious mistakes to be made because the two parties don't understand each other and her job was to help prevent these misunderstandings. However, what eventually emerged was a cultural norm far beyond what would be considered acceptable behaviour.

She noticed early on that young boys often accompanied the delivery trucks into the military compound. When quizzed, these boys claimed they were travelling with their brother or cousin, which Ms Cardinalli initially accepted. She also noticed that Afghani men often exhibited an almost sexual attraction towards the clean shaven soldiers. What later emerged was a cyclical pattern of abuse whereby young boys served older men and as they grew, they expected the younger boys to do the same for them. There was an element of affection involved, which then meant that the women, as wives, were viewed purely as propagators for children, rather than partners in a loving relationship. The whole situation had repeated itself generation after generation and was considered the accepted way of life amongst many sections of Afghan society.

As well as these shocking revelations, there was an interesting insight into military life in the camps. The boredom, the strict adherence to rules and the need to be ready for anything at any time. It was also fascinating to have this from a female prospective. What I didn't enjoy was the excessive detail about the author's life before joining the military, how she was training as a musician and singer, how she fell onto the wrong side of the law and ended up serving military time instead of prison time. All this is certainly interesting but it was rather laboured and I found myself impatient to return to Afghanistan, which was my reason for reading the book.

I'm glad I read this. It wasn't an easy read, but I'd certainly recommend it for anyone who is likely to find themselves in Afghanistan or in contact with Afghanis. ( )

When AnnaMaria Cardinalli’s "explosive" United States military report on the topic of sexuality in southern Afghanistan was leaked to mainstream American media, it generated a firestorm of attention and reaction. While some of the findings regarding Afghan sexual practices are simply of cultural interest, other findings raise grave humanitarian issues, such as the cyclical abuse of young boys, perpetuated over countless generations.
In Crossing the Wire- One Woman's Journey into the Hidden Dangers of the Afghan War, Cardinalli returns to her diaries from the Human Terrain Team (HTT) mission to the Pashtun-inhabited southern region of Afghanistan. After classification reviews by both US and UK Government authorities, a day by day narrative remains of a female hired soldier operating in a sometimes boring, sometimes exciting environment. From western women's "problems" in a army camp, staying apart from your fiancée who happens to be a US soldier as well to the meetings with local people. A large part looks back to AnnaMaria's youth, her love for music, only to resume the diary part later. Eventually her field research on the role of sexuality and humor among the Afghan people. You learn what Bepto-Bismol or a micro credit could mean to women's development. And the way men treat women and fellow men sexually isn't simply cultural sexism, though forbidden by Islam, practiced widely in habitats where men and women live separately. But, what's the difference with male US soldiers? Who's willing to cross the wire and act on it? ( )