Mission of Frustration in Afghan Villages

LANDAR, Afghanistan -- A convoy of six Humvees bounced along a winding, rocky riverbed last week and entered this village in Khost province near the Pakistani border, chased by a mob of schoolboys in bright blue tunics and pajamas.

The visitors' mission was a tricky one: part diplomacy, part sleuthing, part carrot and stick. The local tribe was viewed as friendly, but U.S. forces had received information that anti-government insurgents were active in the area. By offering to help the needy village, while staging a stern show of force, they hoped to reinforce its wavering allegiance.

For the next two hours, a young U.S. Army captain and three Special Forces officers sat in a dirt courtyard on hastily arranged plastic chairs, while armed cavalry troops guarded each door. Three bearded village elders sat and welcomed them politely. Would the visitors like tea?

"Tea, yes, that would be good," said Denny, a Special Forces member who asked to be identified only by his first name. He smiled, but then he glimpsed some young men lingering outside, and his tone changed sharply. "No one goes in or out."

Then the questions began. The elders listened and nodded gravely, but the exchanges, translated by two Afghan interpreters accompanying the soldiers, had a perfunctory feel. Similar rituals had been performed in a hundred other villages, with similar results.

"Are there any Taliban, al-Qaeda or Hek forces left here?" asked Denny, referring in the last case to followers of renegade militia leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

"No, no, no," one elder said, while the others shook their heads emphatically.

"When people drive at night from Pakistan to Khost, do they come through your village?" Denny asked. U.S. and Afghan officials say Islamic insurgents regularly sneak across the border into Afghanistan to stage attacks.

"No, no, no," the elder repeated with a frown. A boy poured more tea and put out little dishes of candy all around.

Capt. Frank Brooks, 30, a U.S. cavalry officer, leaned forward, trying a different tack.

"We know you are good people, but we have pulled IEDs out of the soil near your village," said Brooks, referring to improvised explosive devices or roadside bombs, which have killed several dozen foreign and local troops across Afghanistan this year. "This is dangerous for us and also for your children walking to school."

The elders nodded gravely again, agreeing that it was indeed a danger and protesting that they knew nothing. They said they were grateful for the presence of U.S. forces, that they had good relations with the local police commander, and that they had fended off insurgent attackers three times.