Familial Feud • 59 'Perhaps the mountain arms sellers saw what was coming to the Middle East back in 1979, because they started to modernize and mass produce for the coming troubles. A lot of weapons and rupees changed hands that year." He was correct. As the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan ushered in 1980, the illegal arms markets in neighboring Pakistan became a real seller's paradise. There were some unofficial reports that while the Pakistani government waited for the United States to lift its arms embargo that year, its military entered into purchase agreements with the domestic weapons counterfeiters. K‘, According to Savoldi, the quality of these copied weapons from Pakistan varies greatly, depending upon the shop and the metal used. Some use cheap railway iron while others use hardened steel alloy imported from Western Europe. 'You can buy cheap merchandise or you can buy expensive quality,' he wrote. 'It's just like buying ordnance anywhere — you get what you pay for." Neither the government of Pakistan or Afghanistan has any control or force in the area. And, as one dealer told Savoldi, 'Neither did the damned British when they tried in the last century.' According to former intelligence officer and ordnance salesman Jack Krcma, 'This area outdoes the old Wild West at its worst. It makes a Sicilian vendetta look like a nursery school picnic. This is the Northwestern Territories, where East meets West in the Hindu Kush — the Khyber Pass. " These family battles have been going on for generations, as blood oaths are sworn and a brother's murder must be avenged, creating a deadly, vicious circle of vendetta. Gunfire pierces the Khyber night and thunders from dusk to daybreak. Then the tally is noted, and the balance is brought forward into the next day. The homemade firearms are quite functional and, considering what the locals have to work with, well made. One store specializes in pistol versions of the .303 Enfield. Firing a .303 pistol is a major shock. After the sheet of flame and the roar of sound, it's a surprise to see your shaking hand is still attached to the end of your arm. The