Khost, Afghanistan - Less than six hours after a helicopter
drops a combined US and Afghan army patrol by the mountain border
with Pakistan, Islamic insurgents surround and pound the unit into
disarray.
The surprise attack from forested slopes around the troops'
positions lasts 20 minutes, during which they are pinned down and
barely able to hit back, such is the intensity of the barrage of
fire. Then abrupt silence replaces the crash and rattle of
rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.
'They know to pull back before air support can arrive,' said
Sergeant Ryan Hendricks of the 2-506 Infantry Regiment, 101st
Airborne Division, as he positions the two dozen soldiers against any
attempt to directly storm the hilltop they are holding.
True to form, the militants slip away before Apache helicopter
gunships reach the site, ready to strafe the enemy with miniguns and
rockets. The pilots find no trace of the attackers, who are thought
to have hidden in nearby houses before escaping back across the
frontier to a camp into Pakistan's tribal belt.
Amid rising tensions between US and Pakistani authorities over how
to prosecute the campaign against Taliban and al-Qaeda marauders, the
soldiers on the ground are up against numerous obstacles as they
carry on the fight as best they can.
There are some 32,000 US troops in Afghanistan, but lack of
manpower tells in every operation in these huge tracts of highland
wilderness, where the enemy, drawn largely from the Pashtun tribes
that span the porous border, is completely at home.
'I preferred it in Iraq,' said Sergeant Bruce Hunter, a member of
another platoon deployed in the area. 'It was an urban fight, more
fast paced, more chances to kill the enemy - here they shoot at you
from a ridge and you'll never catch up with them.'
Meanwhile, strict rules of engagement - partly a product of
protests by the Afghan government in Kabul at civilian deaths during
coalition operations - mean that threat verification must be absolute
before the troops can engage.
Playing on the restrictions, the militants will avoid carrying
their weapons where possible, hiding them in caches in the rocks
until they are needed and enabling them to pose as innocent farmers
if sighted.
Unless they are caught red-handed with arms it is hard to take
action, no matter how suspicious their behaviour. 'It's like trying
to catch a criminal, you need a number of reliable sources and
evidence,' said Captain Ricardo Bravado, whose men were attacked on
the hilltop.
Armaments may be brought to Afghanistan on mule trains from
sanctuaries in Pakistan, moved along remote mountain trails or
concealed beneath huge piles of firewood on commercial trucks.
Not even with assistance of the Afghan police and army is it
practical to search the throng of vehicles that ferry goods between
the countries. And curbs on access of US troops to private homes
raises their dependency on Afghan government forces during operations.
Seven years after ousting the Taliban from power, the US military
is also waging a separate campaign from the 'hot war' in the eastern
regions. The aim is to close the gap with local Pashtun tribes that
are tired of violence and economic stagnation but remain wary of the
foreign and Afghan government forces.
On a recent morning, airborne troops in the restive Khost province
staged a meeting at an army base with some 80 mullahs and tribal
elders and Afghan National Army officers to help establish a dialogue
between the sides.
'This is a demonstration of good faith, that we can sit in a room
together and be civil,' said Captain Eric Robinson, who organized the
event comprising a series of speeches by key figures about challenges
and prospects of cooperation and a sit-down lunch.
With many tribes still sitting on the fence, the occasion was not
expected to work miracles. But it was at least hoped to provide a
forum for voicing and addressing suspicions and grievances, and
perhaps help nudge some participants away from the Taliban's orbit in
the long-term.
'There are people in the room who are strong sympathizers with the
insurgents but that's OK - we are here to talk to them too and show
we are not monsters and do listen,' Robinson added.
USA
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