Chapter 9 - Operation Eagle Hunt

It was December 2011 when we were asked to support an Afghan Border Police (ABP) led mission in Taghaz area (west of Khanashin), Helmand province. The mission was also supported by Afghan National Police (AUP) and Marine's Afghan Border Police Advisory Teams (BATs). Objectives were to clear the area from Talibans, drug traffickers and eradicate poppy.

On 3rd December we moved from COP Castle to Taghaz and then to South Station. South station was a small base located around 15 miles from Khanashin toward the east. The base was right at the south bank of the river Helmand and was accommodating US Marines. During our two days stay we visited a few nearby villages. Most people in the area were from Popalzai Kuci tribes. They had recently returned to their villages from various refugee camps in other parts of Afghanistan or in Pakistan and were struggling to regain their livelihood which was lost due to the violence of Russian invasion and then the civil war.

After staying for two days at the south station we moved to the operation area in two groups. We travelled through the Khanashin desert where there was no road or any demarcation of a road. I was riding a truck with other attachments and an explosive sniffing dog. We were going fast, producing huge clouds of dust behind us. It was morning and the desert air was very cold. As our truck was open from the top, we were getting a lot of dust and cold air. A Staff Sergeant gave me a triangular piece of cloth from his first aid kit to cover my face from the dust and cold air. It took us about three hours of rough ride to reach the staging area, the east side of the operation area, which was a couple of miles away from OP Taghaz toward the north west direction. While the other group staged on the west end of the operation area.

Our staging area was a huge flat piece of land surrounded by desert and was significantly higher than the area on our south. All MRAPs took their positions on the periphery of the staging area and blocked some spots with razor wire. A small dirt road was running next to the staging area, where ABP established a vehicle check point. Marines erected two small tents, one for the command and control and other to accommodate some of the attachments. ABP also put-up a couple of small tents for storing their supplies and to accommodate their commanders. Immediately after our arrival, ABP along with their advisors and supporting teams started clearing operation in a nearby village. Just before sunset all advisors and attachments came back to the staging area, while ABP team stayed in the area for the remaining days of the mission.

The staging area was very cold during the night. The majority of marines and ABP slept outside. I was one of the 25 lucky people who got a spot under the tent. The tent was very congested but overcrowding helped increase inside temperature. Morning travel and then long foot patrol exhausted me. I went to sleep as soon as I zipped myself in the sleeping bag. In the morning the sun rays were very soothing. We used a power outlet of MRAP to brew some coffee, an unimaginable luxury in the middle of a desert.

Next day we visited more villages to support this ABP lead operation. Most of the villages in the area were located toward river Helmand which was on the south of our staging area. A dirt road which led to Khanashin passed through these villages. Malakhan, the closest village, was about 2 km from us. For the next seven days we intensively patrolled every village in the area. We used to walk from the staging area, making multiple stops while heading toward the river.

During these patrols AUP and ABP searched suspected houses, vehicles, and agricultural fields, while the team I was working with was doing most of the talking with the villagers. Usually, our final stop was the river where we used to stay for a couple of hours, watched for any wary river crossing and then returned to the staging area in the late afternoon.

One day our patrol leader decided to stay in a village for a night along with ABP. A roofless compound next to the village mosque was selected for our stay. Mercury started dropping immediately after sunset. At midnight it was almost unbearable for me to stay in the open air. I folded my sleeping bag and sneaked in the mosque. Some ABP personnel were already sleeping there. I found a small spot, enough to spread my sleeping bag. A thick carpet on the floor made my bed comfortable and warm. I enjoyed a sound sleep until early morning when the Imam of the mosque called for prayers.

Like other parts of Helmand, agriculture was the mainstay of the area residents. Most of the arable land which was close to the river was irrigated with lift irrigation, where water from the river was lifted with pumps, a very expensive way of irrigation. A small irrigation channel, probably a branch of Taghaz canal, also irrigated some areas which were away from the river. Many farmers were busy preparing their lands and sowing wheat and poppy.

As it was cold and germination in the fields had not yet started. Therefore, it was difficult to differentiate between poppy and wheat fields. However, some AUP officers were able to identify poppy fields by recognizing the way the land was prepared. Most of the arable land in the area was flat. Also, there was no sign of water logging in the area. Apparently, farmers were investing significantly in agriculture. The area was far away from any market to sell their produce like cotton, grains, vegetables or fruits at a reasonable price; therefore, poppy was the only crop which could justify their investment. Farmers were also growing some licit crops like wheat, but only for their own consumption.

In village Malakhan, we saw only three shops; a small general store, a live broiler chicken shop and a small grinding mill for wheat and corn. We saw about 20 dead birds thrown into a field next to the chicken shop. When we inquired from the shopkeeper about the dead birds, he complained that due to the security forces operation in the area, the traffic on the road had almost stopped and so his business. He further said that he was supposed to sell all his broiler stock in two days and now it is the fifth day, and he could not sell even half of the stock. As he was not having arrangements to keep birds for more than two days, birds had started dying. A Marine in our patrol quietly slipped some money in his pocket to compensate for some of his losses and the ABP commander purchased few birds for his platoon, which was posted to provide security for the village where we stayed for the night.

There was no sign that the Government was providing any service to the area: no school, clinic, road, electricity, police station or agricultural extension services etc. Also, there was no report of any plan from any agency (government, private or NGO) for the development of the area in near future. I wondered how someone (Afghan government and ISAF) can expect to eradicate poppy without providing any service or option to the farmers for an alternative livelihood.

On the last day of the mission, Khanashin District Governor (DG) visited the area and conducted a Shura, a meeting with the village elders. Unluckily, on his way back to Khanashin, his car hit an EID, killing him and two of his security guards. We learned about this sad incident when we returned to Khanashin late at night.

During the mission, police confiscated more than dozens of water pumps and some tractors from those farmers who were found guilty of sowing poppy. However, after a couple of weeks these items were returned to the farmers after they submitted an undertaking (or paid a bribe) that they would not cultivate poppy.