The latest push against the Taliban at last appears to be changing Afghanistan for the better.
Symbolic moment: Private Aziz Watandosd of the Afghan army flies the Afghan flag in Showal Photo: Julian Simmonds Four years, 263 British lives, £10 billion spent and the generals say that we have finally got to the “end of the beginning” in Afghanistan. Operation Moshtarak is in its second week and, like the early spring that has arrived in Helmand, it feels warm and comfortable – unlike the days of hailstorms, cold, thunder and lightning that preceded its launch.
The Taliban face being driven out of central Helmand, denied the luxury to plan killings from their strongholds and raise finances from the opium trade. Of course, they have not gone away. There will be more deaths of soldiers and civilians, in attacks that could become ever more barbaric and desperate. But the insurgents are certainly on the run. More importantly – much more importantly – the American, British and Afghan forces that have poured into the area are getting among the population and preventing the insurgents from reaching the civilians. Although the American push in Marjah is harder going, with the Taliban concentrating their forces to make a stand, the insurgents have seemed utterly incapable of mounting significant attacks in the British sector of Nad-e-Ali.
That the British now have enough helicopters has certainly helped. With contributions from the Canadians and five extra RAF Merlins, the British have at last been able to generate a force capable of breaking records for air assault and resupply. Landing at several locations simultaneously – 1,200 troops deployed to 16 different sites within two hours, in complete darkness – caused considerable disorientation among the enemy, who were unsure where to attack, or which flank had been taken.
And despite the lack of set-piece battles, there have been some highly symbolic moments, which will cause as much damage to the Taliban’s image as a Hellfire missile landing among the leadership. At dawn on the third day of Operation Moshtarak, I watched alongside a small huddle of soldiers as the Taliban’s flag was hurled down from a disused crane in Showal, the small town that was the capital of its shadow government, and replaced with the national ensign. It had been there for almost two years. For a few minutes we chatted, took pictures and shook hands. A text message was sent via satellite phone to an officer at brigade headquarters: “The flag of Afghanistan flies over Showal.” Within hours, the news spread, and a stampede of generals and politicians ensued, which culminated in the arrival of Gen Stanley McChrystal, the American military commander, the Afghan governor of Helmand and the defence and interior ministers.
As I interviewed him for the eight minutes it took us to walk up to the crane, Gen McChrystal was understandably chipper. Helmand had “turned a corner”, he felt – and while he was still reticent about declaring victory, and warned of Taliban violence ahead, he was clearly a man who felt the scales had finally been tipped. His plan was working – endorsing his bid for an extra 30,000 troops, which President Barack Obama acceded to at the end of last year.