Building bridges to locals in Afghanistan

The generals and governor strode across the 230-ft. span in eastern Afghanistan – the longest Bailey Bridge built during combat since World War II, the military says – with an optimism they want to spread across this divided valley where US and Afghan troops fight almost daily battles against the Taliban.

"Once they see the joy of reconstruction, many people will come to our side," provincial governor Didar Shalizai tells US Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley. "They will run toward us."

"Inshallah (God willing)," replies General Freakley, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, using a Muslim affirmation of hope for the future.

This new bridge over the Pech River was inaugurated Monday and marks an early step in a shifting US strategy: Clear Taliban strongholds, stay on the ground long enough to reestablish government rule, deploy Afghan forces, and show fruit of reconstruction.

But the stakes are high in a region that – already five years after US-led forces toppled the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies – the American military has visited again and again, only to watch the Taliban filter back.

"Our persistence in staying here, versus hopscotching around Afghanistan, is that other valleys [hear] what's going on," says Freakley, in a later interview. "There were some valleys here that we were told we would have to fight our way into. And the elders came to the governor and said: 'When are you going to come help us?' "

A similar fight-and-build strategy is being pursued by NATO troops in southern provinces. They declared Operation Medusa a "significant success" over the weekend, and claimed to have killed more than 500 insurgents.

But four Canadian soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber Monday in Kandahar, who struck on a bicycle while children scrambled for pen and notebook gifts from the soldiers. Also Monday, two other bombings killed 20 civilians.

Tuesday, British defense chief Des Brown admitted that fighting was "even harder" than expected, and that "the Taliban's tenacity in the face of massive losses has been a surprise, absorbing more of our effort than we predicted it would, and consequently slowing progress on reconstruction."

Trying to turn the tide in Kunar Province, the governor – himself a past Taliban supporter, with a thick black beard – speaks to elders gathered on the ground under the trees near the newly built bridge.

"I can assure you, we will serve you in a better way – the government will serve you," promises Governor Shalizai. "We have plans to build roads ... the water system, and to provide job opportunities for your sons and people."

The people from Kunar are the "bravest people of Afghanistan, [and] I ask you to help your government bring security," says Shalizai. "Don't do things that make our enemy happy. This is a great opportunity for Afghanistan. Don't let it go."

But not all the men here are convinced. The adjacent Korengal Valley is divided, with villages to the north generally pro-government. Three villages in the south are deemed sympathetic to the Taliban and have been blocked by US and Afghan forces for weeks, ostensibly on the governor's orders.

Elders from the sanctioned villages deny they support insurgents who have carried out several killings of civilians – including murdering the child of one elder – in the past year.

"That's not true. The people of Korengal do not support the Taliban," says Zarawar Khan, head of the local governing council. "There are small pockets, of five to 10 Taliban. They attack and go back."

Page: 1 | 2