Anand Gopal

KHAS KUNAR, Afghanistan — U.S. and Pakistani troops recently planned a pincer movement to catch insurgents crossing the border from Pakistan into this troubled corner of northeastern Afghanistan. The U.S. would block the narrow mountain passes while the Pakistani army attacked militant positions on the other side of the border.

The operation failed. The reason, according to the Americans: Their partners in the Afghan Border Police had informed the insurgents, allowing them to slip away.

“Every time we tried it, there was a leak,” says Lt. Ryan Keogh, a company commander who helped to plan and execute the operations. “If we can’t rely on the Afghans in this fight, then we are going to be here for a long time.”

Counting on Afghanistan’s security forces to help stabilize the nation is seen as vital if the international force is to turn around a deteriorating security situation.

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The US, Pakistan Coordinate Troops to Prevent Militants From Fleeing to Either Side

Jalalabad, Afghanistan - This week’s brazen assault in Kabul underscored a major security gap for Afghanistan: its porous 1,500-mile-long border with Pakistan’s tribal areas, where militants can plan attacks and take refuge.

Wednesday’s insurgents sent text messages to contacts in Pakistan before launching an attack on three government offices that left 28 people dead, Afghanistan’s intelligence chief told reporters. Previous high-profile attacks in the capital have also been blamed on militants based in Pakistan.

In recent months, however, the US and Pakistani militaries have begun cooperating to try to secure the border by sharing intelligence and coordinating offensives on either side of it.

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