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.

Read the rest of this entry »