Great Deals on a Kalashnikov

By Simon Robinson

Is Afghanistan getting ready for peace? You might think so, judging by how the price of weapons is plummeting on the streets of Bagram, outside Kabul. The town, which encompasses the base where U.S. and coalition forces are ensconced, has become a favorite of small-time weapons dealers peddling knives, Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades. One dealer tried to interest a TIME reporter in a Kalashnikov for the bargain price of $200, with 100 rounds thrown in "to close the sale." The man, who identified himself only as Abdul, said he wouldn't need his weapons anymore. "Peace has come to Afghanistan," he says. "The King is coming home, and people are sick of fighting." Prices have dropped nearly 50% since December, but not just because the war is winding down. Many Afghans, fearing the U.S. and the U.N. will soon begin collecting weapons, are trying to sell them quickly for whatever they can get. Still, arms are hardly scarce. Lakhdar Brahimi, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative in Afghanistan, says America's use of local fighters to take on the Taliban and al-Qaeda has exacerbated the weapons problem. "You have more arms, not less," he says. "While we're collecting [old] arms, there are more arms being distributed."

--By Simon Robinson