The despatch by Michael Yon 'Precision Voting" at Yeoman Di's post is quite enthralling. I have passed it on to all my chums and suggest you lot do the same!
Precision Voting
The truth from these far off places is so difficult to get at by normal means.
As an aside, my father who served before WW2 with the South Wales Borderers in the North West Frontier, Khyber Pass and all that, stated many times that that area would never be subdued as the terrain, the people and history was all against any chance of success. I fear he may have been right.