nastyleg
04-18-2010, 03:15 AM
Troops continue Kandahar preparations with wary locals
SHUYENE WUSA, Afghanistan
The local mullah was angry. Despite his warm welcome earlier in the day, he insisted that U.S. and Afghan forces could not stay in his village overnight.
“You don’t need to be here. I’ve already told you that security is good,” Hashim Maulawi told Capt. Jimmy Razuri, commander of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. “But since you don’t believe me, I’m not coming to the shura tomorrow.”
Keen not to antagonize the old man further, Razuri ordered his men and the Afghan forces with them to pack up and go. They spent the night at a compound on the outskirts.
It was wise to keep the mullah happy. The district governor was coming the next morning. It would be the first time an Afghan official would visit Shuyene Wusa in nine years, and a crucial first step in re-establishing government authority over the village. If the religious leader refused to attend, other elders would likely stay away, too, and the troops’ mission would fail.
As coalition forces prepare for a large offensive in Kandahar this summer, much of the groundwork is being laid in the Arghandab River Valley and other outlying districts where U.S. soldiers and other forces are working to wrest control from shadowy networks of Taliban guerrillas and reconnect villagers with the provincial government.
U.S. and other NATO officials hope the Kandahar campaign will prove........http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=69426
SHUYENE WUSA, Afghanistan
The local mullah was angry. Despite his warm welcome earlier in the day, he insisted that U.S. and Afghan forces could not stay in his village overnight.
“You don’t need to be here. I’ve already told you that security is good,” Hashim Maulawi told Capt. Jimmy Razuri, commander of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. “But since you don’t believe me, I’m not coming to the shura tomorrow.”
Keen not to antagonize the old man further, Razuri ordered his men and the Afghan forces with them to pack up and go. They spent the night at a compound on the outskirts.
It was wise to keep the mullah happy. The district governor was coming the next morning. It would be the first time an Afghan official would visit Shuyene Wusa in nine years, and a crucial first step in re-establishing government authority over the village. If the religious leader refused to attend, other elders would likely stay away, too, and the troops’ mission would fail.
As coalition forces prepare for a large offensive in Kandahar this summer, much of the groundwork is being laid in the Arghandab River Valley and other outlying districts where U.S. soldiers and other forces are working to wrest control from shadowy networks of Taliban guerrillas and reconnect villagers with the provincial government.
U.S. and other NATO officials hope the Kandahar campaign will prove........http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=69426