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Bill Roggio reports from Afghanistan
Hattip Instapundit. Herewith a few tidbits, but you know you want to read the whole thing -- with pictures and video clips. You also will enjoy the other articles on the main page of the Counterterrorism blog, including Mr. Roggio's reports last from Iraq at the end of last year.After arriving back in Kabul on a U.S. Air Force military C-130 transport from Kandahar, I met up with my friend Tim Lynch, the Afghanistan country manager for World Security Initiatives, a private contracting firm. WSI is located off of Jalalabad road, the main artery between Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad. The road is a rough ride and heavily populated with construction companies. Like most places in Afghanistan, the ride is always adventurous. We armed ourselves with automatic weapons and chose the armored 4x4 Toyota pickup with red markings. The Toyota pickups are virtually everywhere in the Middle East and Central Asia, and because of this provides a level of camouflage. Haji, our Afghani driver who fought the Soviets with the Mujahideen, weaved through the rough rodes and chaotic early morning traffic in Kabul, then gunned it on the open road to Qalat. Haji is unmatched in his mastery of the Afghan roads, passing convoys of jingle trucks, farming vehicles, taxis, military convoys and local traffic. The 300 mile drive to Qalat took less than four hours, not bad on a two lane highway that weaves through mountains and towns. Along the road we passed the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghazni, several Afghan National Army bases and numerous police outposts and checkpoints. We also encountered several U.S. Army and Afghan National Army patrols. Tim noted this is a marked increase in a security presence over the past few months. The drive to Qalat was uneventful, save the appearance of a suspicious red land cruiser parked on the side of the road with a man outside carrying a weapon, accompanied by another man with a weapon on a motorcycle. Haji indicated these were Taliban, and Tim agreed. We passed without incident. After dropping off the passenger at the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Qalat, we turned around and headed back to Kabul. Here's where things got a little interesting. Tim had some business to conduct in the city of Qalat, so I tagged along for the ride. Qalat is the provincial capitol of Zabul, and lies about 300 miles south of Kabul, 125 miles northeast of Kandahar. The Kabul-Kandahar road is a well paved two lane highway that runs though the wide plains between two mountain ranges. This is the same plain the armies of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and the British Empire marched to Kabul during their conquests of Afghanistan. The valley region from Kabul to Kandahar is a hot, arid plain seeded with small farming villages along the wadis as the farmers seek to maximize their access to the scarce water. Green bursts pop up in the desert, and farmers grow almonds, dates, grapes and a host of fruits and vegetables. Golden wheat fields edge the highway, and shepherds guide their flocks of sheep, oxen, goats mules and camels seemingly into the middle of nowhere. The terrain provides perfect cover for the Taliban. Afghan Road. Zabul is considered a successful example of nation building in southeastern Afghanistan. During a briefing from a senior Coalition officer on the state of the four southeastern provinces of Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul and Helmand provinces, Zabul has been rated as the most advanced province as American forces have concentrated significant resources in the security, economic and political realms. An indicator of the success in Zabul can be seen in the targets the Taliban chooses: the police outposts have been the main focus of Taliban efforts, and the Taliban rarely attacks Afghan National Army or U.S. Military units in the region Posted by: trailing wife 2006-06-22 |
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