But I want to go back to where I was as a correspondent, the frontline- the killing grounds of Kabul where I've witnessed so much death and suffering. And it wasn't just the humans who suffered. What's so amazing is that the Kabul Zoo is still here. Even more surprising, so are some of the animals and in surprisingly good condition too since they were creatures caught in the crossfire.

I guess you should have to say this is about the saddest bear in the world. But it's a miracle that he is here at all. Because during the battle for Kabul, the zoo was the frontline and all around here there are trenches. What's incredible is that the zookeepers stayed here during all that fighting and tended the animals. They also looked after the trees because everybody wanted to cut them down for firewood. Just one of those amazing stories has come out of the war.

The bear was unharmed. But the lion was hurt when a grenade was lobbed into his cage. He is blind but alive. It's here that I first encountered the Islamic warriors whose leaders control this country, the Taliban. They couldn't look less like the fierce champions of Islam, demonized in the Western media. And in a place where photography is rigidly policed, they're naturally enough intrigued by my camera.

But to place all Taliban in the same fundamentalist camp is not to understand where they are coming from. Most of them just want to see order restored and a better life for their children.

Imagine being a kid growing up with this social playground, a lot of this has been demined and a lot of the unexploded bombs have been taken out, a lot children lose their legs just having fun.

It's been a daunting first day back in Kabul, back in a ruined city where people still live with the prospect that any day the end of their wail could come.

lob: throw or hit (a ball or missile) in a high arc

demonize: portray as wicked and threatening

police: keep watch, guard, supervise