Hard-earned gains signal shift for U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan's south
Published: April 16, 2011
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Troops from B Company 3 Mercian patrol next to Highway 1 near Durai Junction, which is the crossroads linking Sangin, Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Camp Bastion and has one of the highest risks of suicide bombers in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
PA Wire/Press Association Images
An area that has been the deadliest part of Afghanistan for coalition troops that used to take eight hours to cross because of scores of roadside bombs can now be done in 18 minutes.
Residents of a once-impenetrable insurgent stronghold on the western outskirts of Kandahar city - who are benefiting from U.S.-funded jobs - recently hurled a barrage of stones at Taliban henchmen who were threatening them.
And in Arghandab district, where handmade mines have claimed the lives of many U.S. soldiers, three village elders made a poignant appearance at an April memorial service for an Army staff sergeant killed by a mine.
Indications of progress are abound for the American-led military campaign in southern Afghanistan and they point to a profound shift: For the first time since the war began nearly a decade ago, the Taliban are beginning a summer fighting season with less control and influence of territory than it had the previous year, according to a Washington Post story.
“We start this year in a very different place from last year,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top coalition commander in Afghanistan, said in a recent interview, according to the story.
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In Afghanistan’s south, signs of progress in three districts signal a shift from the
Washington Post.