"I wanted to study literature in Kabul University." "Unfortunately I failed the entrance exam." "I drifted for two years without work." "Fortunately!" "I wound up with an application for the Officers' Academy in my hands." "Now I'm an officer in the National Army of Afghanistan." "I wasn't interested in studies or education." "I wanted a modern life, full of action." "I joined the Army because I was interested and felt obligated." "I should serve my country." "I was interested, but I was also poor." "Why would I lie to you?" "I was unemployed." "That's why I joined the Army." "Hey, Sunnatullah..." "I hope that God will bless all our martyrs." "Especially the martyrs of this battalion." "You've probably seen our three brothers from Kunar on TV." "They were army boys." "They were taken from their homes and killed." "Their only fault was that they defended their country like men." "You all know what the Taliban are like." "But let me tell you one thing, dear friends." "Say your prayers in the mosque." "Ask God for forgiveness." "Ask for help, ask for peace!" "More than anything, pray for peace." "That peace may come to Afghanistan, my dear brothers and we may become an independent, free, strong and powerful Army, capable of protecting our nation and our people." "In 2014, our foreign colleagues will be leaving Afghanistan." "All of the responsibility will then fall on our shoulders." "Pray that we may be capable of defending our nation, our land, our children." "Our orphans, innocents, our needy, our widows." "Pray that one day we might have such an Army." "Everyone should stand in his place." "The way they're standing now is completely wrong." "Everyone's making it up." " It's all wrong." " We should do it right." "Well, there were some mistakes but it'll be solved in the future." "Are you from Badakhshan?" "." "Yeah, from Warduj." "The Taliban took over all of Warduj, no?" "There were a lot of them here, too, when we first arrived." "The Taliban were fighting face-to-face with us in Gereshk." "They were fighting you here?" "You couldn't go any further than that school without taking 20 tanks with you." "Here, do it like this." "Didn't you do work like this at home?" "." "No, if I had then my father wouldn't have kicked me out!" "Washing carpets isn't part of our job." "Stupid." "This isn't our job." ""Hey look everyone, he's sewing his country."" "I swear this isn't sewing." "It's just kissing ass." "What do you think?" "The religious officer's coming." "Keep quiet." "He'll ask what we're doing!" "He always has a problem with everything we do." "When a soldier joins the Army, he signs a contract for three years." "There's so much time left before those three years are over." "This area, Nahr-e Saraj, is one of the least secure districts in Helmand." "The Taliban Security Chief is based here." "The Taliban could attack us at any moment..." "What's this paper he has?" "." "It has a stamp from the Taliban." "It allows him to travel freely from Taliban territory to here." "He's playing us here, and he plays the Taliban there." "Take him to the security chief, question him, then release him, OK?" "The town of Gereshk has changed a lot." "The Army didn't come here in the past." "But now people know why we're here." "These are our people." "We should talk to them, and find out what they want so we can take their security seriously." "When the Americans first came to Afghanistan," "I was so happy." "I thought they were here to help us." "But when I saw them in the towns and markets, when I saw what they were doing, the truth is I hated them." "They would drive in their convoys and they wouldn't let anyone else pass." "They would threaten to shoot us." "They were doing bad things in Afghanistan." "Why were they treating our country like that?" "." "After seeing that, I felt they should leave." "I haven't seen any sign of security or peace in this country." "God knows what they're doing here." "Five years from now, Karzai will run for President again." "Who cares if he runs again?" "." "The point is he was faced with this difficult country, its past, its people..." "The civil war, all that..." "And he did alright given the circumstances." "Of all the people who've tried ruling Afghanistan this guy managed to guide the people for 13 years." "He built something out of nothing." "There was nothing after the Taliban." "No, I'm not saying he was all bad." "But he betrayed us." "That will slick with people 50 years from now." "For the people of Afghanistan," "Pm ready to sacrifice my Hie." "But for the politicians," "I wouldn't even spill one drop of blood." "Everyone thinks that another war is coming." "These politicians only care about themselves, no one else." "They see that their lives are in danger, so they fill their pockets." "They don't care about the Afghan people." "I really love my soldiers." "But they make mistakes sometimes, and they need to be treated harshly." "Unless the teacher punishes us, we won't study our lessons." "The relationship between the servant and God is the same." "I haven't reached that level where I express my love for God." "But I worship God because I fear Him." "The commander says he's like our spiritual father." "Sometimes it upsets me, when he gets angry at me." "I think, "Why is he talking to me like that?" "'" "He has to get angry so that I fear him." "If he doesn't get angry at us, he won't be able to guide us." "Give me a cigarette." "The Commander's right there." "He tells me: "Kid, you're a Muslim, you shouldn't smoke. "" "Whatever he says is to help me, not hurt me." "Who is it?" "." "It's Sorab." "I love you my darling!" "Just gel me transferred to your checkpoint!" "He says there's a guy going on leave, so he'll get you swapped in." "Excellent!" "Excellent!" "What else is new?" "." "Did he manage to sort out his problem by the way?" "." "Yeah, that guy hasn't been on leave in 12 months." "He says he's in debt, where's he gonna go anyway?" "." "You might have been on a lot of missions before, but not like this one." "They come through Deh Adam Khan and lay mines in between two of our checkpoints." "In between these compounds is an Afghan Local Police checkpoint." "There's a guy firing on our position from this checkpoint." "Who here's been based up at "Shaheen 2"?" "." "You?" "." "Commander, there are 2 guys named lsmat and Khalil." "They're the ones firing at the Army post." "We'll start at this checkpoint and talk to their commander first." "And Tawakal, you'll be on the other side of the river covering us with the.50 caliber gun." "And we'll have a few other heavy weapons." "It should take about four hours, but we could be done in two." "Understood?" "." "OK, one more important thing..." "We need to be really careful when we deal with these Police." "They can kick off really easily." "If one of them draws their weapon, we're all in trouble." " I hope no one's afraid'!" " No!" "Because we can't just stay here asleep all the time." "Now and then we need to get out there and impose ourselves." "And that starts now." " Are you National or Local Police?" "." " Local." " What's your name?" "." " Gulam Shah." "Ahmed Shah." "Do you have police ID?" "." "No, we're new here." "We haven't been given ID yet." "How many guys are in this post?" "." "You're the cook here, so how many guys do you cook for?" "." "Ten guys..." "Who's in charge here right now'!" "This guy?" "." "What's your name?" "." "Darweza." "Right." "If I speak in Farsi will you understand?" "." "No, I don't understand Farsi." "Alright, fine, you translate." "Tell this Darweza guy... that from your guard tower over there, night after night," "there's firing onto our Army base over there." "From this checkpoint'!" "From this checkpoint of yours here." "It's up to you to find out who's doing the firing." "But tell him that if this continues, the next time we come back, we'll kill all ten of you and throw you all in the river there." "If you want to complain to the district commander, be my guest, we couldn't care less." "This time we came here to tell you nicely." "The next time we come here, it'll be like this " "We'll be right up in your faces." "You better listen to that real good." "Tell him." "He's saying his base is getting fired on from our tower." "I..." "And he says if il happens again, they're gonna come back and roll us all up and throw our bodies in the canal." "Where's that Army base he's talking about?" "." "That base over there." "That's the other post shooting, not us." "We don't fire in that direction." "No, it's this one." " Who's this here?" "." " lsmat." "Where's he from'!" "His house is just over there, next to the checkpoint there." "On that side of the canal." "He's working in that checkpoint." "Now he's here, in this checkpoint." "So why didn't you mention him earlier if he's in this checkpoint?" "." "I just didn't..." "You didn't mention anyone called lsmat, did you'!" "Give me your Police ID." "Before, you told me there were ten guys here," "Now with this guy, that makes 11." "Why did you say you were ten guys, and here we have an eleventh all of a sudden'!" "OK, we're taking him with us." "Hey, it's our enemies that are telling you we're firing on your base!" "It's them, not us!" "Commander, sir!" "Where are you taking him?" "." "Tell this guy to tell me where Talib Jan's house is or I'm gonna knock him out." "No, you can't take him." "He's my only son." "I've got nothing else." "We're just going to the checkpoint." "Tell your mother to go home." "Go home, mother!" "No, you don'!" "understand the feelings of a mother." "I wont leave him!" "I won't leave him!" "I have nothing if you take him!" "When I first joined the Army," "I was fearless." "But after coming close to death several times," "I started to think more about protecting myself." "Not for myself, but for others." "I felt I needed to stay alive for my parents." "No matter what I tell them, they know." "From the news, they know Helmand isn't safe." "They worry." "To make them feel better, I always lie to them." "I tell them Helmand is safe, there's no need to worry about me." "But ilk clear that my job is to fight." "I have a fiancee, and I want to get married." "Build a life and a family." "I should survive for their sake." "Most of the time, when we take prisoners, they're released without a proper investigation." "My soldiers' fives are in danger." "My life is in danger." "And all of this is for nothing." "We didn't know what fighting meant when I was a civilian." "I knew how to wrestle, how to punch someone and knock them down." "But since joining the Army I don't fight with my friends." "We're fighting against the enemy now." "I get very angry when I'm fighting." "I think about how I can punish the enemy." "I want to tie him behind a Humvee, or hang his body from a tree and use if for target practice." "But when I stop and look at him, when I see how young he is," "I ask myself: "How can I kill him?" "'" "Then I release him." "And maybe he'll think to himself," ""The Army captured and released me."" "Maybe he'll change and follow the right path in life." "What crime have you committed?" "." "I swear I don't know anything." "Should I kill you?" "." "The Taliban kills 20 of us every day!" "Why is your shoulder injured?" "." "I swear I don't know." "You've been carrying a weapon on your shoulder." "I work with a shovel." "What are you hiding?" "." "Nothing, I swear." "Are you from the Taliban?" "." "No." "You are from the Taliban, aren't you?" "." "You're with the Taliban." "I know you." "I've been to your area." "Where's Commander Ashiqullah?" "." "I don't know." "Who's he to you?" "." " He's my buddy." " What kind of buddy?" "." " He's my friend." " What kind of friend?" "." "Does he cooperate with the Taliban?" "." "No, he and I have been to your base together." "We used to pick pomegranates there." "We know each other." "And the Taliban used to arrest me like you did." "This is what it's like in Afghanistan, do you hear me?" "." "You people have ruined Afghanistan." "I swear we haven't ruined il." "Then who ruined it?" "." "Tell me?" "." "Did I ruin ii?" "." "I swear I don't know who ruined it." "Hey, don't put all the crazy soldiers in the same group." "Hadi is crazy." "Wadood is crazy." "Shamsuddin, half crazy." "Mansoor is totally crazy." "Mix some intelligent soldiers in there." "Alright, listen up boys." "The locals are out there farming." "This is opium season." "Don't shoot them." "We can't shoot them just because they're growing opium, OK?" "." " Is that clear boys'!" " Yes, Sir!" "What do you do?" "." "We grow wheat." "And?" "." "That's it." "We grow onions right there." "I was working in the onion field." "See - my hands are green." "Whose opium is this?" "." "Well, the leader is Jumma Khan Agha." "He's given us this land to cultivate." "Anyone you see in the mosque, you should tell them that whoever grows opium should come to our checkpoint." "What are you growing, wheat or opium?" "." "This is my wheat field." "And whose opium is this?" "." "It belongs to our cousins." "If you see any of the village leaders, tell them to come lo the checkpoint." "We can't come looking for you every day." "If we find you with opium next time, we'll destroy all of it." "If the government would buy wheat at a good price, then everyone would grow wheal." "He doesn't have opium, why should he come?" "." "Everyone says that." "If I had opium, you think I'd tell you?" "." "Well, we'll find out at harvest time." "I know you're doing a tough job, you're a labourer," "If it's not your opium, we have no problem with you." "OK, let's go." "They say they've solved the issue of the opium." " How did they solve it?" "." " They paid the money." "What's his name?" "." "His name's Mir Ahmed." " Do you have his mobile number?" "." " No." "Where does he work?" "." "Here in the district police headquarters." "We have nothing to do with the District Representative." "We're responsible for this area, it belongs to us." "No police has the right lo come asking for money." "They're asking for money, but you're here for our security." "You're responsible for this area, so why are they taking our money?" "." "You should go and arrest him, I can't." "Why did you give them the money?" "." "Everyone around here paid, not just me." "I saw other people giving them money, so I also paid." "We destroy it every year, but we haven't this year..." "We're responsible for this whole area." "OK, if you want to do your duty, go and destroy the drugs." "We can't stop you, brother." "Alright, we'll destroy it, let's go!" "I don't have the power to stop you, you have a weapon." "Nobody has the power to stop you." "You can kill me in my own home." "You n loot all my property." "You can kill me and no one will stop you but God." "I don't carry a gun to kill." "What other reason is there?" "." "That's it, it's up to you now." "We told you what we wanted." "The locals here, they're in the middle of a war from both sides." "H they side with the government, the Taliban will kill them." "H they side with the Taliban, the Army will blow them up." "That's why they're stuck." "Where are you?" "." "Everything's fine here." "Wait for a few days until they give me my salary." "Then I can send you some money, otherwise I don't have any." "No, I can't come." "I'll come after four or five months, for New Year." "Afghan forces will face the Taliban alone during this year's fighting season." "The NATO commander in Eastern Afghanistan has said that this year 54 foreign bases have already been dosed..." "What the hell have they done here?" "." "This is useless to us." "They took all the electric cables with them." "Their relationship with us is over now." "America has sewed Afghanistan..." "in general..." "There were some problems, but we should ignore them because of the service they've given us." "America has facilitated Afghan forces, to some extent." "They trained us, to some extent." "And now they want to pull out." "And we want lo them lo pull out." "They should pull out." "We should defend our own country." "We should create our own government." "This is what we want." "But 2014 is not the time for the international community to abandon the people and the nation of Afghanistan." "If they saw someone planning to attack us, they probably wouldn't tell us." "Do you see that house?" "." "Some guys ran from there to that other house." "The Taliban are right there." "We'll approach from behind those trees." "OK, get eight of your guys ready." "They say there are two guys inside that house." "Yeah, yeah!" "We'll move forward and shoot." "They can't escape, we'll arrest them alive." "Be careful not to get shot by them." "Do you see them?" "." "They're right there." "Yeah but we can't shoot them." "If we shoot towards the Army, they'll kill us all." "Hey, don't shoot!" "Hey don't shoot!" "He's not Taliban, don't shoot him!" "If he was Taliban, he would have killed you all by now." "Move forward, don't shoot." "Ghafar, stay with me." "You guys move." "Move, quickly, and get those motherfuckers alive." "Commander!" "Gel back here!" "Someone just shot at us." "I was sitting there when a bullet flew past." "I don't know who, but someone's shooting at us." "Cover us!" "Quick!" "Quick!" "Ge!" "inside the compound!" "Run!" "Get inside!" "I read you, commander." "One of my men has been hit." "Commander, 2nd Battalion has disappeared!" "If they don't come back we're in real trouble." "We're getting hit from all sides." "The Taliban are right against the other side of this wall." "Sir, I need you to order 2nd Battalion to come and help us, otherwise there's no way we'll make it out of here." "Is ii that bad?" "." "Yeah, it's real bad here..." "It's no joke..." "Alright, we'll work something out." "Don't say it's bad." "OK, Sir." "Guys, keep your armour on." "I've already taken some shrapnel here." "Two of our guys... injured..." "One guy from 3rd Company..." "That makes ten today..." "That's enough for one day." "If they want to go on like this, it'll be more than thirty by tomorrow..." "My location is 17. 1." "Then come forward another 200 metres so we can get the hell out of here." "Quickly before it gets dark." "We don't wanna gel stuck here overnight." "Get ready to leave, boys." "Sir, we're coming back." "Let the 50." "I gunner know so he doesn't hit us." "Tell spring not to come this year." "Not to cover this blood-soaked land with its shroud." "Let not the nightingales sing." "Let not the mourners be freed of their sorrow." "Blood flows from the earth beneath our martyrs." "Oh, my country." "Alas, my country." "There were so many officers just sitting around him." "Just sitting there relaxing, everything they need at their disposal." "Just sitting there relaxing, everything they need at their disposal." "That's not how to command an operation." "They need to get out there and lead from the front so we can get some direction in what we're doing." "In the beginning, I didn't know anything at all." "I didn't know anything about weapons, armour, all the equipment." "I didn't know anything about weapons, armour, all the equipment." "Then they taught me how to use a weapon." "Now I'm in charge of five people." "Now I'm in charge of five people." "I feel more responsible." "Now I see these changes in myself." " What grade did you study up to?" " 9th grade." "Same with me." "I swear, no one likes school when they're studying." "And then you regret it later." "You regret a lot of things later." "When I joined the Army, I realised it's the guys who are always kissing ass who get ahead." "Those guys are first, and the guys that actually pull their weight end up last." "Those guys are first, and the guys that actually pull their weight end up last." "I swear buddy, we're treated like dogs in this company." "Yeah." "When someone wants to join the Army, he better ask himself if he can really do it or not." "In the fight to drive out insurgents from Helmand, commandos and elite police units will launch special operations." "will launch special operations." "The fighting began six days earlier in Sangin district, but the conflict has rapidly spread..." "I knew from the beginning." "I always said it." "When the foreigners leave Afghanistan, the Taliban will say," ""This government is a puppet of America." "We will still fight them."" ""This government is a puppet of America." "We will still fight them."" "Let me tell you one thing, brothers." "Let me tell you one thing, brothers." "Our international colleagues supported the Army, Police, and the Afghan state." "They suffered a lot of casualties in Afghanistan." "They suffered a lot of casualties in Afghanistan." "They spent a lot of money, they worked hard for over a decade." "But now they've left us." "Left us alone in this mess." "Our casualties are acceptable because this is our country." "But when it comes to the casualties the foreigners suffered here, this was a betrayal of those young men from Europe and America." "This was a betrayal of those young men from Europe and America." "With all due respect to the dead, does the world call this "a service" to Afghanistan?"" "Does the world call this "a service" to Afghanistan?"" "As an Afghan officer, it's not a service in my opinion." "As an Afghan officer, it's not a service in my opinion." "The new president signed the Security Agreement with America." "The new president signed the Security Agreement with America." "They told us they would help us, that they would do this and that." "But now it's like they achieved their own goals here and just left." "But now it's like they achieved their own goals here and just left." "I thought Afghanistan would move forward and prosper." "Where I live there's a hill called Qalatak." "Where I live there's a hill called Qalatak." "One day, two foreign women arrived." "They looked at the hill, and said, 'This is our nan."" "They looked at the hill, and said, 'This is our nan."" "They just wanted to take what was under that hill for themselves." "R's clear that's why they wanted it." "They didn't come to help." "Every country came to Afghanistan for their own personal gains." "The Americans came to Afghanistan, they spent money, billions of dollars." "You think they'd do all that for free?" "Never." "If the situation continues in Sangin," "If the situation continues in Sangin, the Taliban are likely to capture the district soon." "The Ministry of Defence has said that to combat the Taliban offensive" "The Ministry of Defence has said that to combat the Taliban offensive" "They're sending an additional 3000 troops to Sangin..." "The Armoured Brigade has come from Kandahar." "The whole Brigade has gone to Sangin." "The whole Brigade has gone to Sangin." "Remember on earlier missions, I always used to ask you to raise your hands if you were afraid'!" "And I would lake someone else instead of you'!" "We had a lot of soldiers back then." "We had a lot of soldiers back then." "Unfortunately you're all that's left now." "So we have to take every man even if he's sick or afraid." "So we have to take every man even if he's sick or afraid." "Nobody should be afraid." "Let me tell you one thing." "When you're afraid, then your death is near." "When you're afraid, then your death is near." "When someone is afraid, he forgets his weapon, his brain doesn't work property, he can't fight well, his eyes don't see anything." "God willing, there's nothing to be afraid of, OK?" "None of you." "Commander, Sir, we're not afraid but we haven't received our salary." "You just focus on your mission" "You just focus on your mission and I'll work hard lo gel your salary." "We haven't been paid for nine months..." "The operation in Sangin started," "I was really nervous and I should have been with my troops." "I should lead them properly and make sure no one's wounded or killed." "I should lead them properly and make sure no one's wounded or killed." "In 13 years, the Taliban has never lead an offensive as big" "In 13 years, the Taliban has never lead an offensive as big as the one they're fighting now in Sangin." "If Sangin falls into the hands of the Taliban, the surrounding districts of Kajaki, Musa Qala, Naw Zad, and even Nahr-e Saraj are likely to fall." "I love and fear God." "For my love, when I'm in danger, God saves me." "God is always with me, every minute, every second." "And my fear of God is, when I don't worship Him properly," "when I do the things I've been told not to do, then you're going to Hell." "My dad told me not to go to Sangin." "No one knows I'm in Sangin." "We were told by our Company Commander that we were only going to Sangin for 24 hours." "But when I got there, I knew something was up." "Those 24 hours ended up lasting 45 days." "Is that firing to the north?" "Is it close?" "Hey!" "What's that in the orchard'!" "Is that Police outpost near us still there, or have they fled?" "The Police have abandoned it to the Taliban." "We're doing our best to get you support." "They're shooting from a hole in their wall." "Come here, take a look." "There, do you see it?" "There's one there and another one in those trees." "There they are, shoot!" "There they are!" "Can you see him'!" "There he is!" "The Taliban are on the roof of the police checkpoint." "They're firing right al us." "What's your location?" "They're about 200 metres from us." "They're up in the trees." "I swear I can clearly see them." "Are the commandos coming?" "What about the Army?" "Roger that." "Sir, that checkpoint that the police abandoned last night, the Taliban took all the weapons in there." "Mortars, rockets, everything." "Sir!" "The sentry's been shot." "Someone get up there quick!" "Hey!" "Get two guys up there!" "Two guys!" " Sir, they can't..." " Why the hell not?" "Take cover!" "Cover him!" "If you read me, you need to get this message to command." "You need to tell them we're surrounded here." "Our casualty is bleeding out..." "No one's come for us, we're on our own." "What are we supposed to do?" "They won't come for us." "If the Corps Commander gives the order, they'll come to help us." "He won't." "How much ammo do you have?" "Probably one magazine left." "Don't you have another box?" "No, we don't have any more." "I fought with NATO for three years." "We were stuck in some bad places, and we always made it out." "But we can't get out of this one now." "Man, last night they almost overran us..." "Tonight they'll do it for sure." "I read you Sir, understood." "Hey, get that casually ready to move!" "We'll get the casualty out first, then the men will follow." "Come on, let's get out of here." "Get down, get down!" " Where are the enemy'!" " There, I just saw someone moving." "They ask the poor and the hopeless," ""Do you want to serve?" And they say, "Yes, I'll serve."" "So they send them to places like Sangin, Yakhchal, Mirmandab..." ""Go and fight for the nation," they say." "Then {hey stick a flag on him and send him home in a box." ""Here's your many!" "of the nation," they say." "But it's the family who bears the grief." "I was very tired." "More tired than I've been on any other operation." "When we heard on the radio mar the replacements had arrived," "I couldn't even believe that we were going back home." "I told the Commander:" ""Until we reach the border of Sangin," ""I won't believe I'm going back to base."" "We got together and told stories." "And then we finally mounted up to go home." "I've been wearing this uniform for seven-and-a-half years now." "I'm tired of this unit, of this place." "I should be transferred from here, so that I can have a change, and get out of Helmand." "But then I look at my men and it makes me happy." "And I think to myself "No, I should be here with them."" "There was a Mynah bird in that compound." "It wasn't in very good shape because it was hungry." "Then my friends gave if some bread." "They would put lice in their hands and the bird would eat it." "If would play on our feet and jump on our shoulders." "No matter how sad you were, when you looked at that bird, you would laugh."