Pivot Points
The war on terror isn't over in Afghanistan, and the remote villages near the border with Pakistan are on the front lines.
By Robert Padavick, Thu Mar 23, 10:06 PM ET
The small villages in Afghanistan's Paktika Province, near the border with Pakistan, occupy pivotal ground in the war on terror.
Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, U.S. forces have maintained a strong presence in eastern Afghanistan, as part of the ongoing fight against al Qaida and Taliban remnants there. But outside the capital, Kabul, much of Afghanistan remains lawless.
That's especially true in Paktika Province, where U.S. forces must control large swaths of territory. Given the proximity to the porous border with Pakistan (where U.S. troops are not allowed on the ground), the challenge for U.S. troops on the Afghan side of the border is to prevent the Taliban and al Qaida from regrouping.
But with little government presence in the area, U.S. troops are fighting the war on terror one small village at a time, in a constant game of push and pull. The 10th Mountain Division, currently charged with control of the area, says that villagers are usually happy to see them— especially since aid packages for the villages are offered in exchange for security cooperation.
But troops concede that as soon as their backs are turned, they fear the Taliban filters back in. This is an area where tribal allegiances trump everything else.
How does life play out in these remote border villages? While embedded in Paktika Province with the 10th Mountain Division, Kevin Sites visited two small villages, Guyan and Torah Wrey, to find out.
-Hot Zone senior producer Robert Padavick
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