In Afghanistan: Coffee; Rip Its; And Tobacco

By Mark Memmott

Graham Smith, a producer on All Things Considered, sends in another dispatch from Afghanistan. Graham, NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR video/photo journalist David Gilkey have been reporting from there for the past month.

In this report, Graham tells of their visit to Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan's Farah Province, and a trip they made with Marines to the village of Gulistan:

It's pretty much the northern stretch of the Marine's AO (area of operations) and man is it remote. We flew on a brace of helicopters across a huge desert, away from Camp Leatherneck, which I'm told was placed there so it wouldn't be an easy target for rockets etc. Well done -- it's so far from anything, I don't think the Taliban would bother.

Approaching Gulistan, we flew over absolutely beautiful hills that grew into rocky mountains. Brigadier Gen. Larry Nicholson, who we were with, said we were headed to a place that "looked like Switzerland". Well... not quite. But compared to the dust of Leatherneck, it was sweet. We landed at a small Marine base -- probably not more than 150 yards across. The sun was hot, but the alpine air was cool, and the base overlooked a small village in the shadow of a massive ridge line.

We got a briefing from the lieutenant there, a strutting, muscular marine who stood in the middle of a huge sandbox filled with spent grenade rounds and stones that represented the geography, pointing to poker chips of different colors while explaining bombings and attacks in the recent days. ... The overarching message was that the village below the base is pretty secure, aside from the recent kidnapping of 30 people (all eventually released) and the shooting of a schoolteacher.

However, to the north, there are Taliban that force locals to give them food and shelter, and attack any coalition or police forces that come by. And to the south, there's a particularly bad mountain pass where the Marines get attacked every time they roll through. The lieutenant said, essentially, that he can move his guys and local forces north, but then things heat up south, and vice versa. And if he really moves in either direction hard, the village near the base has no security.

The general said it's a microcosm of the province, and the country as a whole. Even with the new influx of American and NATO troops, there's never enough to keep every area safe. You have to make choices about where you want your vulnerabilities to be.

A quick aside to set up my favorite quote of the trip so far: Hydration is an obsession here. ... There's lots and lots of water everywhere, not on the ground but in bottles, bottles, bottles, bottles. ... There are pallets of the stuff all around bases, much of it bottled in Afghanistan, some of it imported. I can't imagine the pile a day's worth of plastic bottles would make.

Also, there's Gatorade around on the posh posts. Plus, there's lots of soda, juice boxes, and if you're really really lucky, there's Rip It. It seems to be a military-targeted Red Bull. ...

Anyhow, getting back to Gulistan. At the end of the briefing, the general leaned in towards the young Marine and said, "I want to ask you something I ask all my guys -- What is it that keeps you awake at night?"

Instantly, the lieutenant said, "Coffee, sir. Rip Its. And tobacco."

And then there was a beat.

Like, maybe he's joking? Nope.

The general tried again: "Let me rephrase that -- what are your biggest concerns here in Gulistan"? The lieutenant rambled a bit about making sure his Marines get back safely from patrols, when the general interrupted again, asking about the mission. "Stay with me here, son," he said.

"Tracking, sir".

Anyhow, I couldn't stop giggling about the Rip Its line all day long, as we went along with the foot patrol through the village and on the bird on the way back to Leatherneck.

As for the foot patrol, it was good to get a look around. You can never expect folks to be very forthright when you're accompanying a platoon of heavily armed Marines, but we got a chance to interview a handful of people, including a pharmacist, two local policemen and some local kids. Everyone said security is a huge issue -- the village isn't safe. The police told us they've had lots of pressure and death threats from the Taliban.

I asked one teenager if he'd consider joining the police, and I didn't even need the translator's help to get his response, "Are you kidding me? I don't want to get killed". The younger kids told us they hadn't been able to go to school for three months -- since the teacher was killed. Nobody will take his place in this village within a stone's throw of the marine base. It's just too dangerous.

I might note that in his briefing, the lieutenant had mentioned the school and the girls' school in town as he pointed out key buildings. The general had said, "The have a girls' school here? Pretty progressive area".

Once we returned from patrol, I mentioned to the general what the kids told me about the school being shut down. An officer nearby jumped in, saying he'd meant to mention that to the general. The boys' school had been shuttered for three months. The girls' school had been shut down for half a year.

It's hard to know exactly what to make of it all, but I think the general was right that it's a decent microcosm. ... There's an honest effort at establishing security in the towns and villages. But, the further you get from a base, the less likely that things are holding together. People on the fringes don't feel served or protected by the government, and they're extremely vulnerable to the opposition forces.