The view over the lawless plains of Zamin Dewal from Shamshad 1, a hilltop ANA outpost in government-controlled Kajaki. (Andrew Quilty for VICE News).
Andrew Quilty, Vice News: Inside Afghanistan’s Desperate Battle to Control a Dam in Taliban Country
The only way in or out is by helicopter.
KAJAKI, Afghanistan — It was after midnight when red tracer rounds spat from government lines in Helmand’s Kajaki District across a band of darkness toward a second line of lights. From a hilltop perch, an Afghan National Army sentry on lookout barely shifted in his seat; the fighting here is constant.
A defensive line of 600 troops is all that stands between the Taliban and a U.S.-built dam that provides electricity to millions in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. This is Taliban territory, and it stretches to the horizon in every direction. In Kajaki, they’ve backed government forces and residents into a corner. The only way in or out is by helicopter.
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WNU Editor: Here is a depressing report on how effective the Taliban have become .... How the Taliban remained dominant in Afghanistan: Terrifying tactics and an advancing weapons arsenal (FOX News).
1 comment:
If you want depressing, well here ya go.
https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/audits/SIGAR-19-37-AR.pdf
This dam and the Afghan reconstruction boondoggle is truly one of the greatest under reported failures this century.
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