The Road to Helmand

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Though the Taliban pulled out of Lashkar Gah after the U.S. invasion in 2001, they have gradually made their way back, working with drug lords to control the production of the poppy crop they once forbade, the profits from which now fuel their resistance. The Taliban and their collaborators approach our laborers regularly, making deals to ensure their loyalty during the planting and harvesting season.

But maintaining poppy production is only part of their mission. They are here to expel the infidels, maintain the status quo of fear and resist progress that suggests cooperation with the West.

We hear that the Taliban see Helmand province as their proving ground, the key to taking back Afghan territory from NATO and Afghan troops. Commanders on the ground describe the situation as the most brutal conflict the British army has been involved in since the Korean War.

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I ask the elders who work in our office to help me find someone to serve as my assistant. B. comes in the next day. She's nervous, and her English is poor. She doesn't have any real qualifications. But I'm desperate for help, so I hire her.

November 2005

Our security manager is continually checking rumors of danger. Recently, he has received reports of more "night letters" distributed locally.

The night letter calls on holy warriors to fight the infidels. One that I read states that cooperation with Christians and Jews and those associated with the U.S.-backed invasion is punishable by death. Any Afghan known to work as a cook or driver or to engage with Westerners will be executed.

I think of B. and the risks she takes to work with us. We agree that she will call me at the end of every work day to let us know that she has arrived home safely. She in turn worries that I could be poisoned, and insists that I eat food prepared only by people I trust.

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A vehicle-borne suicide bomb detonates outside the provincial governor's office compound, about two blocks away. It's only a partial explosion, and the bomber survives the blast to be shot down as he gets out of the car. Several days later, we hear more blasts -- the rest of the suicide mission's explosives. U.S. Special Forces forgot to tell anyone they were going to set them off. Our ribs shake from the impact, and a tense silence descends on the office.

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