Afghans wary of Taliban, U.S.

JALREZ VALLEY, Afghanistan — The engines rumbled awake at midnight.

Creeping out from a lonely hilltop outpost built of dirt-filled blast barriers and razor wire, a U.S. convoy of more than 40 armored vehicles turned onto Afghanistan’s Highway 1 in blackout mode, switching off lights to foil Taliban lookouts.

Their destination: the Jalrez Valley, an ambush-ready stretch of fruit orchards and rocky slopes that cuts through Wardak province, 25 miles southwest of Kabul. With deadly frequency, the Taliban and affiliated militant groups are using the area to launch attacks on the capital and the national highway that is an economic lifeline to the south.

Given its location in between more populous urban centers, insurgents have made alarming gains in Wardak.

A shadow government collects taxes and runs roadside checkpoints, according to intelligence reports and residents, while fighters - many of them foreign - are largely free to train, stash arms and kidnap victims without interference.

In recent months, the increased level of Taliban activity, the weakness of Afghan security forces, and the prospect of mass voter intimidation ahead of next year’s national elections have forced the U.S.-led coalition to pay closer attention to the province and, in particular, Jalrez.

Lt. Larry Kay, of the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry known as “Red Currahee,” first went to the valley with his company in late spring to set up a firebase at its mouth. In six months, he said, he never had a day off, beating back 27 attacks in June alone. Of the 70 men in his company, 30 were wounded and two died in combat.

“The [insurgents] are very aggressive and highly trained, always ready to exploit a weakness,” he said. “You will not have an advantage in Jalrez.”

Red Currahee, accustomed to punching above its weight, sought to project strength in numbers this time. More than 400 troops mobilized recently on a disruptive operation into the valley, making the five-hour journey from their home base, Forward Operating Base Sharana, in western Paktika province.

The long trip got off to a rough start. In Ghazni province, next to Paktika, an improvised explosive device blew up under an Afghan police Ford Ranger pickup at the front of the convoy, killing two and wounding four.

Farther ahead, the $270 million U.S.-funded highway that connects Kabul with Kandahar looked like a motor graveyard. The burned-out remains of delivery trucks lined the road, scarred every few miles by bomb blast sites.

The convoy stopped at a fortified outpost to wait for nightfall, after which the difficulties of traveling in the dark were manifest. One Humvee equipped with thermal vision was temporarily disabled when a jingle truck - so called because it is decorated with small bells and tassels - crashed into a wheel.

It was still dark when the convoy reached Jalrez.

Moving into defensive positions on each side of the valley, U.S. forces established a command perimeter in the village of Eshma-Kheyl to provide a clear vantage point in case of an insurgent attack. But nothing stirred.

“It’s almost too quiet,” said Capt. Spencer Wallace, scanning the rows of adobe compounds. “They knew we were coming.”

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