In Afghanistan, US troops tackle aid projects - and skepticism
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The unit moved here from Helmand Province in the south, where the fighting was intense, but conducted in a by-the-book manner across a desert battlefield.
"In Helmand, you knew when you cleaned house; you knew when you had a good day," says Capt. Gooding. "I don't feel that here, and it's frustrating."
But this unit has become adept at fending off an attack for an hour, then they "transform - you can see it in their faces," says Gooding, when they continue on to a village visit. But still the attacks continue.
Insurgents in the dark
On Saturday night last week - during a storm and with no moonlight at all - three groups of 10 to 15 men moved toward the Gowardesh outpost, but were spotted and hit with US mortars and dispersed.
A few days before that, officers called in a 2,000-pound bomb 10 minutes after an ambush. For days after, insurgent radio traffic all but stopped.
"I haven't attacked a thing up here, but I killed a lot of bad guys because they can't bear me being here, putting in water pipe," says Howard, of the frequent ambushes. "Now if [soldiers] go into a village, and enter every home and go through their underwear, who has the high ground then?"
But the Taliban is making its mark. On Aug. 29, a well-known elder from Gowardesh village, Haji Younis, was kidnapped, tortured, and dumped near the Pakistan border. He had signed a US Army contract three days before, and was on the road to get it ratified by the sub-governor when he was abducted.
A note pinned to his clothes said: "Don't work with coalition forces. This will happen to you." It was signed in the name of Mullah Omar, the fugitive Taliban leader.
"Haji Younis was a friend of mine," says Howard. "But his killing backfired. Instead of being intimidated, people were outraged."
A blood feud between families has now erupted, a tradition in Nuristan. Such feuds can last for decades, and often end in further revenge bloodshed.
Ahmad Shah has been another victim. A colonel in the border police, he was killed by a roadside bomb on Sept. 13. The Taliban claimed responsibility, sending "shock waves" that "completely intimidated" the untrained police force, which one US officer says has gone from "extremely awful to just bad."
Counterinsurgency a 15 year project
"Realistically, it will take three to five years to be where we want to be with the police," says Col. John "Mick" Nicholson, who commands the 3rd BCT. "This is a counterinsurgency; it's going to take 15 years.... What we're looking for is buy-in."
Some results may be emerging, judging by the number of roadside bombs discovered and turned into US or Afghan forces for cash. Only two of 21 on the main Kamdesh road have exploded, US officers say.
Elders have come to this outpost four times in a week, asking for projects. And Afghan police - green as they are, out in this wilderness - have been passing on tips about the insurgent presence.
"I see indications that we are being successful," Lt. Col. Anthony Feagin, the Kamdesh PRT commander, tells his projects team. "But we've got to make sure we don't make any tactical blunders."
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Next: Part 2 • Afghan politics - one chicken dinner at a time
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