An Afghan officer, NATO behind him, leads an assault

While no leader is without his flaws, Shah, who joined the mujahideen to fight the Russians after they killed his father, gets high marks from the Canadians. Tall, abrupt in speech, and handsome, he has courage and force of will, advisers here say. Still, Shah will need the institutional knowledge of his Canadian advisers for his mission amid the poppies and fruit trees.

That doesn't seem to bother him. "It takes time," Shah said the day before, referring to attaining the skills needed to fully direct the show.

For Shah's men, all of whom have been through some form of basic Army instruction, their training largely will end with this day's operation.

As the morning progresses, the Afghan commander and a battalion of about 200 men fan out in two directions along rows upon rows of mud walls that prop up the farmers' plants but make it difficult to see. The supply line they're trying to secure is a small dirt road barely big enough for a small pickup, but used by large flatbed trucks to transport food, ammunition, and other supplies to small bases throughout these fields.

The insurgent safe house they target is thought to have six men inside. Later, it's found to be a small bombmaking factory. Directing his men by radio from an abandoned earthen compound less than a mile away, Shah aligns two rifle companies around the building.

With the help of the Canadians, Shah orders his men to flush out the house. At his side is Major Ritchie, who tips the battle on the ground by calling in an airstrike. In minutes, an unmanned US plane known as a Reaper drops a 300-pound bomb on the house, killing five men. The firefight continues as the soldiers pursue a sixth man who has run away.

It is later learned that one of the dead men is Loy Lala, whom the Canadians and Afghans had been looking for for some time. Shah's men find motorcycles used by the dead insurgents and Shah decides they should be burned.

Ritchie cautions against exploding gas tanks in the middle of the mission, but his objections are overruled by Shah. He wants to prevent them from being used again – but also is eager to allow his men to leave a pointed reminder that they won this battle.

Later, as Shah's men reposition themselves, another group of Taliban is found in the green thicket. But the Afghan forces don't move quickly enough. Ritchie makes another call and a British Harrier Jump Jet arrives, flying low in a show of force, but fails to flush them out.

Ritchie, who has been talking almost nonstop on his radio to his men and coordinating troop movements and airstrikes, marvels that British, US, Canadian, and Afghan forces have all worked on this mission. "Four countries contributing to do the right thing," he says.

Shah's men ultimately find a cache of weapons, including two recoilless rifles used to harass Canadian-Afghan police substations in the area. Shah is ecstatic.

"This is good, Colonel," Ritchie says.

Supply trucks rumble forward

With the area now at least temporarily safe, the coalition supply trucks are able to make it through to a secure compound, and the soldiers receive their rations: ammo, cooking oil, fresh onions, bags of flour, and two sides of beef wrapped loosely in garbage bags.

Today's operation has been a success, says Col. Jean-François Riffou, who oversees all the Canadian adviser teams here, as he watches the operation from inside an earthen compound. "Things are under control, nobody hurt, got some bad guys, and [Shah] is acting deliberately," says Colonel Riffou. Still, the Canadians know he needs more gear, intelligence, soldiers – and practice.

For the Afghans, the sense of accomplishment shows in the visible pride of the men surrounding a beaming Shah. As far as he is concerned, the only thing he needs is not quite within reach. Asked when he could perform a mission like that of today's on his own, Shah nods at the sky and smiles.

"When I get control of the aircraft," he says.

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