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That may be true--but for the nearly 20,000 U.S. troops on the ground, Afghanistan is still a war zone. Coalition forces have had their toughest year so far, with at least 51 U.S. combat deaths, including six last week. That brings the overall total since 2001 to 196 deaths and 601 wounded. The surge in violence comes at an inopportune time for the Pentagon, which wants to cut the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and turn over more of the combat burden to NATO, whose role is now limited to peacekeeping. Four days spent with Turner's Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, in the badlands of southern Afghanistan provides a glimpse of how one group of soldiers sustains its morale and mettle while up against an often ghostly enemy. Even as the military struggles to extricate itself from Iraq, it still has a fight on its hands in Afghanistan. Says Sergeant Andrew Peddycord, who has served in both countries: "I've seen more action here in four months than during a year in Iraq."
The ambush on Delta Company was just the start of a mission that illustrates the challenges and frustrations facing U.S. forces today. On the night the troops come under attack, they are headed into the craggy ridges outside Kandahar to join an operation by coalition forces to corner Maulvi Hannan, a Taliban commander with known links to al-Qaeda. But the ambush and the injuries to the five soldiers force Turner to make some split-second decisions. While an Afghan interpreter tries to clear away local onlookers, the captain is busy on the radio. The medevac helicopter for the wounded soldiers has yet to leave the Kandahar airfield despite multiple promises that the chopper was en route. Furious that his men's lives might be endangered by the delay, Turner curses over the radio, then turns to a reporter and says, "Please don't let my mother know I'm using these swear words."
Turner is a model of the modern American officer, a wry, boyish-looking West Point graduate equally versed in the works of Clausewitz and St. Augustine. As he waits for help to arrive, he directs his men not to shoot wildly at the shadows flitting through the battle chaos. "Dammit! It's civilians mixed with enemy," he shouts into his radio. "Make sure they're carrying guns before you engage." The Air Force has responded to his distress call by sending over a B-52 bomber, which could flatten the entire village, killing plenty of civilians. Turner gets on the radio again and implores the bomber crew to hold fire. After making a few passes and dropping flares, the warplane streaks away. Eventually Afghan police turn up and begin a house-to-house search in the area. Only a few men are arrested, meaning many of the insurgents who carried out the ambush have probably slipped away.