JBL: Mideast Metamorphosis

For a video presentation of this report from Layfield, please click here.

For the past four years, I have had the honor of visiting our troops in the Middle East. The WWE performs every year at Christmastime for our troops in different war zones; the taped special will air Dec. 19 on USA Network.

I just returned from my fourth visit to Afghanistan, and believe I have witnessed something historical there. During my first visit to Kabul and Kandahar in December 2002, the nights were marked by blackouts and the sound of mortar fire. This past week, staying at Bagram (outside of Kabul) seemed as safe as being in Fort Hood, Texas. While there is still deadly fighting going on in many places around the country, our armed forces have done an unbelievable job of securing Afghanistan against the Taliban.

Afghanistan just had its second election in the last 5,000 years, a truly remarkable feat. The coalition has set up schools and hospitals for the local Afghan people. The approval rating for the coalition forces in Afghanistan is phenomenal. These people have a real chance of claiming their own country, and this will mark the epic birth of democracy in the Middle East.

While the Afghans are embracing their new freedom, the economic metamorphosis of the country -- which currently has a 15% literacy rate -- will take years. And their dependence on opium production (their only real source of GDP) will not go away overnight.

However, after taking a simple flight over the country, it becomes clear that Afghans are embracing a technological world they never dreamed existed. Satellite dishes are put up over sheep-herding huts in the middle of the desert as well as most homes in cities. People are using cell phones.