Nothing is certain in Afghanistan except uncertainty

Spin Bolduk, Afghanistan — Sometimes death slaps you in the face when you see a friend racing down for cover or when the enemy empties its pistols or machine gun in your direction. Other times it comes like a black blanket of absolute fear and deadening horror. It is 4:30 am in Kabul and my colleague Guido Schmidt and I are at the headquarters of the Afghan Border Police. The city is painted in a thick hazy blackness due to there being no street lights and a heavily depleted power supply. We are here to join a 12-truck convoy heading out to one of the world’s most deadly highways. The one that takes you to Afghanistan’s most dangerous region, Kandahar.