A life more ordinary in Musa Qala

Musa Qala, in northern Helmand, will shortly become the first British base in Afghanistan to be handed on to US Marines.



BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt visited the town to see whether there are any lessons to be learned.

Back in 2006, it seemed unlikely that the Taliban's then stronghold of Musa Qala, a centre of the opium trade, would be persuaded to listen to the voice of the Nato coalition and the Afghan government.

But the defection of a local Taliban commander, Mullah Salaam, helped turn the tide after a controversial deal between British troops and tribal elders to keep the insurgents out had collapsed.

The town was recaptured in fierce fighting between the Taliban and the Nato coalition and Afghan forces in Operation Snakebite in December 2007, with Mullah Salaam ready and waiting to be district governor.

He may not be the most effective administrator, but he remains a rare symbol of Taliban re-integration.

At the shura or gathering in a small bare room with the the local police chief, Commander Koka, and the local Afghan Army head, Colonel Rasoul Kandahari, they talk out - rather than shoot out - their disputes.

That in itself is progress. At the same shura, the British military commander here, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Fullerton, and the rest of his team - including police mentors, an intelligence officer and a political officer - play the tricky roles of referee and mentor simultaneously.

Different tactics

At their latest meeting, Mullah Salaam is complaining that the Household Cavalry Regiment Battlegroup, which has been here for nearly six months, simply isn't violent enough.

He says that the Russians would have been much tougher with the remaining insurgents to the north and south of the town, and gone in all guns blazing.

But Captain Roly Spiller, the headquarters' British intelligence officer now on his second tour of Afghanistan, is unfazed by the governor's complaints.

"He spent his youth fighting the Russians, and he's used to the Russian way of flattening villages that got in their way, whereas we have taken the approach of waiting until a village is ready to fall, without forcing fighting in the streets," he says.

"It may mean slower progress but it does mean that when we have taken villages, it's been a lot easier to manage them after that."

The build-up of the Afghan police and Afghan National Army here, under local leaders who are competent and - crucially - not corrupt, has also helped create something approaching peace, at least in the town centre.

BBC newsreader Kate Silverton makes a journey to the Afghan frontline

By Kate Silverton

Armed with wet wipes, lucky charm and flak jacket, the BBC newsreader makes a revealing - and dangerous - journey to the Afghan frontline.

Thursday, September 3

What to pack for a war-zone? One pair of trousers, some clean shirts and the Army surplus desert boots I love (they're men's boots but they are so comfy and it's the only time I've been grateful to have size 9 feet). I then add the book Afghanistan Over A Cup Of Tea by legendary American aid worker Nancy Dupree, which gives a comprehensive look at Afghanistan's chequered history.

Into my bag also goes my lucky charm, a silver ladybird coin my fiance Mike tucked into my luggage as a surprise gift when I went to Iraq in 2006. And finally I add my notepad.
I call in to the BBC to collect my flak jacket and helmet and take a last look at the stories running on the various news wires. I notice that Terry Wogan is taking a swipe at autocuties. I look down at my kit, think of what lies ahead and smile wryly.

Friday, 3am, RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire

I've snatched a few hours' sleep in a local hotel and I am now with my crew as we pack up our kit and head for the airport. It's an airport like no other, full of soldiers dressed in desert fatigues, and the loudspeaker is calling passengers for Kabul, Kandahar and Camp Bastion.

Most of those here have been with their families for two weeks' rest and recreation after a particularly tough tour in Helmand. They have mixed feelings about their return. I speak to a soldier who lost a leg in Iraq to a landmine --he is looking forward to getting back to work. He won't be on the frontline, but says just being with his mates will give him a sense of normality.

Friday, Middle East

We touch down in the Middle East and are ushered into a large air-conditioned tin hut, where we are told to get ready for the next leg of our journey - into one of the most dangerous places in the world.

I chat with a guy who supports the teams which locate and destroy Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the roadside bombs which have killed and maimed so many British servicemen in recent months. He explains how the threat is increasing and the strain on the men is immense. He says he's 'threaders' - Army slang for exhausted and strung out.

We board our next flight - a C17 military transport plane. I am huddled on a canvas seat, clasped by an old-fashioned lap-belt. After two hours we're told to put on our helmets and body armour, and the atmosphere changes. We land at midnight.
Special forces soldiers are first off the plane. The journalist in me is curious to know who they are and where they are going.

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