Though it's often cited as where the U.S. has to now focus its military, there's still little substantive news stories on the war in Afghanistan. To keep tabs on the latest developments involving U.S. and coalition troops in that conflict, here's the first installment in of an occasional series highlighting the latest about Afghanistan.
First we have a video from the BBC which offers a concise and disturbing account of U.S. Army soldiers in Afghanistan (warning: the video features partial footage of dead soldiers). The BBC cameraman was recently awarded a journalism prize for what he filmed.
Also from the BBC is this video following British soldiers as they pursue a group of Taliban fighters, an act likened to "chasing ghosts" by the British commander. Also, during the mission a faulty mortar round injuries a Briton forcing a tactical retreat as his comrades carry him to safety. As the BBC reporter remarks, it was a regular day "gaining ground, loosing ground -- and there have been many days much worse than this."
Last week in the New York Times embedded reporter C.J. Chivers provided a detailed "foxhole" account of a joint American and Afghani outpost where Taliban attacks are frequent and one soldier referred to their mission as acting like a "bullet sponge." This is the kind of story that really illustrates the nature of fighting in Afghanistan from the troop level. Excerpt:
In roughly four months, Apache Troop has taken fire on at least 70
days. The attacks have come by rocket, mortar, machine gun and rifle
fire. The troop’s patrols have been ambushed. Its observation posts
have been hit by rocket fire.
On one day alone, the outpost was attacked four times.
The
fighting is so frequent, and the terrain so rugged and heavily
populated by insurgent spotters, that the outpost’s patrols dare not
venture far.
On Saturday, insurgents fired on Apache Troop for an
hour in the morning with a mix of mortar shells, rockets and
large-caliber sniper fire. The soldiers fought back until they thought
the attack had ended. Then the Taliban opened fire again.
Fighting
broke out again at 1 p.m. During the exchange, a mortar round landed at
the base of the castle’s southern wall and exploded with a thunderous
crack, shaking the compound. About 15 long seconds later, a radio
operator called to the other bunkers over the two-way radios.
“Everyone’s O.K.,” he said.
UK Guardian journalist John D. McHugh has spent many months chronicling the fighting in Afghanistan where he's provided a number of multimedia presentations. The stories he's produced have ranged from following medical flights, to American foot patrols, to coalition interactions with the civilian populace. You can take a look at his Afghanistan photography portfolio here, as well as videos and audio slide shows here.
And lastly, if you didn't catch NBC News correspondent Richard Engel reporting from Afghanistan last month, watch this video piece about a platoon of Army soldiers on the hunt for Taliban fighters. The mission turns tragic when the soldiers accidentally call in mortar fire on their own men -- killing one and wounding others. Again the theme from many Afghanistan reports is present: that soldiers are living in isolated Spartan outposts where Taliban attacks come everyday and where nerves and morale are constantly ground down.
