Afghan Man Holds the US Embassy Fort for a Dozen Years: KABUL, Afghanistan — In 1996, the U.S. State Department recognized Nawab Ali for his exemplary work. The award was extraordinary because Ali, an Afghan, had been laboring for seven years at the vacated U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul. Others in a similar situation may have let the place slip. Not Ali. He kept the security detail active, made sure the grounds were maintained, and even found time to grow flowers in a makeshift greenhouse and raise three dozens parakeets and canaries. And every other month he would go to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, to do paperwork and "bring the boys their salaries." Now, a dozen years after the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan was evacuated, Ali and 60 other local employees are awaiting the arrival of an advance team that will begin the process of reopening the compound. Ali doesn’t know when that will be, but he’s guessing it’ll happen in the next several weeks.