Small peace dividends in Taliban’s southern gateway
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ARGHANDAB VALLEY — Lt. Chris Choi receives a mix of stares and scowls as he shakes hands with curious Afghans on their way to prayer in the restive Arghandab district of southern Kandahar.
But he says the mere presence of the turbaned men walking through heavy traffic to the Haji Baba Wali shrine is a sign of progress stemming from the brittle peace in an area that was once a key Taliban supply route.
Nearby, half-dressed children dart in and out of the murky canal waters that help irrigate fertile pomegranate fields.
Such scenes would not have been possible a year ago, when the Arghandab valley resembled a chessboard of American forces vying with the Taliban for control of Afghanistan’s southern heartlands..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: hhttp://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110726com7.html
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