MICHAEL WARE has been in Afghanistan for TIME since December. Based in Kandahar, he has been at the Shah-i-Kot front for the past two weeks.
"If I'm traveling into the Taliban heartland, I normally join a vehicle full of soldiers, about eight or nine men armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and heavy machine guns to deter any unwanted attention. The trick I've adopted lately is wearing an Afghan costume and speaking a little Pashtu. It's allowed me to sneak in and out of the front lines with Afghan troops. But it has its downside. Soldiers think I'm Afghan and treat me...