Harsh reality, tough love (Afghanistan)

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LETI KANDAL PASS, Kunar province - Stone by stone, the new United States military outposts are being built along this lawless frontier that has proven a bane to Alexander the Great, the 14th-century conqueror Tamerlane and - most recently - George W Bush, the former American commander-in-chief.

Set in the foothills of the Himalayas, the new platoon-sized (30 to 50 soldiers) installations are a bold statement to the Taliban, its varied tribal allies and al-Qaeda's military advisors based just inside Pakistan. With their high-tech night vision devices, US fighters can spot the "heat signatures" of invaders slipping across from Pakistan and like high-tech magicians make the starry skies rain metal.

"Our aim is that the insurgents will cease to exist or simply become irrelevant," said 10th Mountain Division Major Andy Knight, who commands several light infantry platoons now fanning out across the border.

Whereas seven years ago, American military commanders were bursting with confidence about their chances of thwarting "the enemy", today's US commanders, many with years of hard-fought experience in Afghanistan, are far more circumspect and pragmatic in their approach to counter-insurgency. The inhibiting factors are many.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KC18Df01.html