August 7, 2010
It is one of the army's most dangerous jobs – finding and diffusing IEDs, the homemade bombs that have been used to deadly effect by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Stuart Webb talks to and photographs the men on the frontline.
Guardsman James Stephenson is just 20 years old, but when the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards leave their base in the Babaji area of Helmand, he leads the patrol. Stephenson's nickname is "Steveo", but on duty in Afghanistan, everyone calls him "Vallon Man". The Vallon is the metal detector used to sweep for bombs – and being a Vallon Man is one of the army's most dangerous jobs.
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Posted by Tomo K. Posted In : Afghanistan
July 29, 2010
ITAMAR, WEST BANK -- While Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited Washington this week to talk about peace gestures toward the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was planting a tree in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank -- an indication of permanence that few Palestinians would welcome.
The contrast showed the confusion U.S. officials face in figuring out how willing Israel might be to cede territory as part of a two-state solution to the conflict.
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Posted by Tomo K. Posted In : Israel