|
|
“The end of a war: Operation Dragoon”
 “Out
of Afghanistan in July of 2011." These were the famous words of President
Barack Obama 18 months ago. He predicted that by 2014 all the foreign combat
troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan. Time for a reality-check.
Journalist Irene de Kruif and photographer Marielle van Uitert went to
Afghanistan to see whether it was ready for an American pull-out.
View PDF
For the men of the 101st Airborne Division in
the province Paktika, the countdown is ever-present. They’re heading home.
But lying back and taking it easy is no option. The last months of their
mission are devoted to operation ‘Dragoon’. The division is going to set up
a checkpoint and police compound for the Afghan border police. But in order
to do that, they first have to actively hunt down the Taliban.
Geographically, the center of operation ‘Dragoon’ is Niamatabad: An
impoverished bazaar near the Pakistani border. The bazaar consists of some
20 shops, four petrol stations, two restaurants and two hotels, all spread
out along a single dirt road. Some shops have roof, others don’t. Some
shopkeepers are aiding and abetting Taliban, others are neutral.
Niamatabad may be a mud-hut village, but it holds great strategic importance
for the Americans. In spring, the area saw a substantial numbers of Wazaris
- nomads who often work as mercenaries for the Taliban – infiltrate through
the Pakistani border to fight. Niamatabad, with its four petrol stations, is
essential for the Taliban and their war effort.
By building a checkpoint, the Americans hope to stop Taliban in Niamatabad.
The operation is a textbook example of the
shape-clear-hold-and-build-strategy, introduced by General Stanley
McChrystal two years ago, before he retired from the post of Commander of
the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan.
It’s war like the White House wants it. While the infantry is hunting
Taliban with the Afghan border police, American engineers build a compound
and a checkpoint. Top brass are drinking tea with the locals to win hearts
and minds.
The Whiskey Company is in charge of hunting Taliban. With some 60 American
soldiers and a same amount of Afghan border police, they go on daily
patrols. “We don’t catch many Taliban,” one soldier says proudly. “Mostly we
just shoot them.”
There are two prisoners lying on a bench at the base of the company. They
have been waiting for five days to be taken to a larger military base for
questioning. Their hands are cuffed with strips and their heads are covered
with bandages. “They are Talibs,” says one American soldier. “Caught
red-handed placing an improvised explosive device.’
Tracking down Taliban is seldom easy for the Americans, traversing the
narrow mountain passageways in large, cumbersome trucks. Taliban, familiar
with the mountainous terrain and double-quick on the motor, are constantly
one step ahead. Then there are the locals. Two thirds of them sympathize
with the Taliban.
“Showing that we’re here is sometimes effective enough,” tells Lieutenant
Yost. “We prefer to shoot Taliban. But now they’re afraid of us and stay out
of our sight.” The column of Afghan Humvees and American IED-proof trucks is
impressive. “It’s muscle talk,” says Yost. “We’re the boss here right now.”
But the aim is for the Afghan border police to be the boss in and around
Niamatabad, and that’s a difficult task. They don’t have the capacity that
he American army has, they can’t automatically rely on American air support
and the locals don’t trust Afghan troops. Not so surprising, according to a
study from the UN 90% of the Afghan soldiers are illiterate, one third had a
drug addiction and a quarter deserts the army every year.
In Niamatabad Captain Rasscher needs to advance the Afghan border police a
bit. “Let me do the hearts-and-minds thing,” he says, laughing. With a
loaded gun and a bullet proof vest jacket he drinks tea with Idak, one of
Niamatabad’s elders. Idak was involved in the plan of building a checkpoint
from the start. But he decided he wanted out after learning that it will be
manned by Afghan troops instead of Americans.
“The Taliban is going to arrest us all. This place is way too important for
them,” he says. Idak is afraid of the Taliban. “Two weeks ago after you
bombed the weapons cache, they arrested two of our man and took them to
Pakistan. They were held there for ten days.’
“That’s why we build a security checkpoint,” Rasscher says. “You agreed to
it months ago. My soldiers will check up on the border police. And the
commander of the Afghan border police, Lieutenant Loqman, is a great guy.’
Rasscher is annoyed with the locals’ sudden misgivings regarding the
project. The Americans are putting all their money on the brand new Afghan
government. They have to take over from the coalition forces. Rascher
doesn’t think Idak and his villagers are afraid of Taliban. They’re afraid
of losing money if not the Americans, but the Afghans are in Niamatabad.
“When Americans guard the checkpoint it means all kinds of government money
for the villagers: Land compensation etc.,” Rasscher says. “Of course they
want us to be here. But that’s not how you build a country.”
Foreign interference in the Afghan economy is a tricky affair. According to
the World Bank, foreign military expenses and donor money account for 97% of
the Afghan gross domestic product.
Also in this respect Niamatabad serves as a typical example. The bazaar
sprang up in 2001, in parallel to the establishment of a nearby American
compound. Shopkeepers made their money thanks to the military base. When the
base was shut down in 2005, the Taliban returned. All of a sudden they
became the main source of income for the shopkeepers in Niamatabad.
What will happen to the micro-economy if the Americans and the Taliban go
away? Captain Rasscher has a ready answer on how to solve this predicament:
Once again, it is the advancement of the Afghan border police.
Meanwhile, infantry are searching for Taliban. Informants say that about 200
Taliban fighters are planning an attack on the construction site in
Niamatabad. The soldiers go on patrol together with the border police. On
their way, they stop every male of an age appropriate for Taliban combat
service.
The soldiers examine the shoes and hands of the people they stop for
questioning. “Worker hands are okay, these people make their money in the
field. Soft hands are suspicious, they can study inside the whole day,” says
Franz, a soldier during one of the patrols
“Look at this guy, he’s a fucking bad guy!” Franz said about one soft-palmed
individual. But Franz can’t detain the man with the velvety hands. There’s
not enough proof.
They put all the men in the American HIIDE-system. Using a small device, the
American soldiers scan the irises and fingerprints. If they find a
fingerprint on a bomb, they may be able to trace it.
Suddenly, during the patrol about 20 kilometers from Niamatabad, three guys
with army jackets run away. Together with the Americans, Afghan border
police officers runs after them until they’re caught. “These are Taliban
scouts, for sure!” Lieutenant Yost declares.
The Taliban is nearby, but they initiate no attack. “We’ve got too many
troops here,” Captain Rasscher says. “Right now they don’t have the guts.”
This worries Idak, the village elder. “What should we do when the Americans
are gone?” he asks an American scout. “Can the Afghan border police handle
two hundred Talibs?” “I hope so,” answers the scout, “otherwise we just
built a very expensive compound for nothing. You guys have to make it work.”
Rasscher sighs. “Our job is finished when the Afghans can do it themselves,”
he says. “But Rasscher’s job is already finished. He’s going home, to the
United States of America.
Waiting for a world to change:
Obama Announces Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal In
Speech To Nation: assuring the nation that 33,000 U.S. troops will be pulled
out by the autumn of 2012. Five thousand troops will be pulled out
immediately, with another 5,000 leaving at the end of 2011. These portraits
are made in May/June 2011 in Afghanistan during my embed with the 101st
Airborne. The war is not finished yet... and will it ever be?
View
full size
|
