From the Land of the Poppies

HERAT, AFGHANISTAN – MARCH 2: U.S. Army soldiers lead a medical training exercise for Afghan National Police (ANP) officers March 2, 2010 in Herat, Afghanistan. The ANP force currently has about 94,000 members and is under a complete rehabilitation by U.S. and NATO military. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Because American troops don’t trust the Afghan police farther than they can throw them (1, 2, 3) and because the Afghan cops are notorious for drug abuse and other nefarious behavior, I found this photo almost hilarious. It’s part of a propaganda photo-op showing US soldiers teaching Afghan police (no, not how to shoot up, but) how to administer EMT techniques.

It’s a shame Afghanistan has to compete so hard with other disasters like the Haiti and Chile earthquakes because the surge pictures get better every day.