Afghanistan: Inside the Battle for Hearts and Minds

Update: April 21, 2010
Shortly after this piece originally appeared, U.S. troops occuped the school and it is now being renovated. Wrote Captain Ellis, "Huge groups of onlookers turn out to see what is going on, and their initial questions are, 'Are you building a new coalition strongpoint?', 'Are you preparing to clear the town, one house at a time?'. I tell them that we are here to clean the school, paint it, repair the windows and doors and place books, teachers, chalkboards and pencils into the rooms ... they are ecstatic."

• Afghanistan: A Tale of Soldiers and a School