Battlefield Tourist

Sunday September 12th, 2004
Kabul

Sometimes it's tough to keep track of time here. Sunday becomes Thursday and Wednesday is actually Saturday. In fact, it's tough to even remember what month it is sometimes. This is one of those weeks when you lose track of time. Not sure why this week is like that, but it is.
What I do know for sure, is that on Monday morning I was finally able to make it to Herat. Unfortunately, a day late and a dollar short. On Sunday morning, Ahmet got an early morning call that the government was sponsoring a trip to Herat to to cover the installment of the new governor. Remarkably, the day before, President Karzai pulled the coup of the year by replacing the "Lion of Herat", Ismail Kahn. This didn't sit well with some folks and unrest began late Saturday afternoon that killed two protesters.
Knowing this, I sent Ahmet to Herat with plans of my own to follow him up the next day via the U.S. military. The idea is that Ahmet covers the Afghan speaking contingent, and I cover the english-speaking side. As Ahmet returned, I would be punching out, meaning we could overlap our coverage, ensuring we cover all angles.
The difficulty of working in Afghanistan is very similar to the difficulties endured by journalists is Vietnam. It is very difficult to get around the country, which means often times, the video that eventually gets out, can be days old. That is the challenge. Fortunately, my military contacts and working fluidly with Ahmet and the rest of the crew allows me us to do some of the best video coverage in the country.
As Sunday wore on, riots in Herat spun out of control. Roughly 1,000 protesters gathered at various points in Herat. The mob would eventually burn three U.N. buildings and cause a couple dozen injuries to U.S. and Afghan forces. The majority of those caused by the torrential flood of rocks being thrown by the crowd, but there were also some injuries due to a hand grenade as well.
The protesters, almost all under 25, had a reported 7 killed with another 50 injured or wounded. Intelligence sources tell me that Iranian special forces and Ismail Kahn's cronies were behind the trouble; paying off the young kids and handing out weapons to anyone interested in fighting the Afghan led forces. Too bad for those kids, I guess. Regardless, Ahmet was in Herat with Andrew North from the BBC, and they were getting great video. Unfortunately, much of that video had injured kids yelling they'd been shot by Americans.
Back in Kabul, Task Force Phoenix was getting ready to send reinforcements to the area and to exploit the fact the Kahn was thrown out of power. That would also be my ticket out to Herat, finally.

Monday September 13th, 2004 0600
Kabul

Captain Powell called the night before to advise that my plane wouldn't be coming as early as expected, which was a relief. I actually had until noon. That gave me time to pack correctly. Besides, we were expecting a tape from Herat via Airiana
at 1100. Ahmet managed to get a U.N. worker to take it out as the U.N. staff evacuated.
I sent Nadir and Recep to wait on the plane while I busted my butt getting a bunch of necessary work out of the way, including a note to Heidi and my fantasy football lineup. Afterall, I was offered Stephen Davis for Eli Manning. I really think my team has a chance this year!
Time began getting short and at 1145 I decided to get a taxi to Camp Phoenix. A call to Nadir lets me know he's still waiting, so I have no choice.
Once there I was met by Captain Powell who set me up with an element of the 76th Indiana Infantry that was preparing to move out as reinforcements. Very nice guys out of the Salem, Indiana armory. Having gone to school and lived in Indiana for several years, we had enough in common to get along well off the bat.
We convoyed through town to the ISAF section of Kabul International Airport where we loaded onto a C-130 and made the hour plus trip Herat.
At the airport, I split with the platoon I came with and headed up through the ANA camp to the "hotel" where the ETT's (Embedded Training Team) for 4/2 Kandak stayed. A "Kandak" is the Afghan equivalent of a battalion. 4th Kandak, 2nd Brigade.
Being American and dressing paramilitary, I never get challenged with the ANA, so I went straight to the hotel and looked up the new inhabitants. Last time I was here, some Guardsman from Vermont were just getting ready to head out, so I expected new faces, which I found.
I introduced myself, talked about my history and the documentary and was gladly given a bunk to sleep in and food. Very kind guys.
Off the top I had a good long conversation with a Captain Tigh who's one of those no nonsense guys from Pennsylvania that doesn't like the press much. Interestingly enough, we had a nice long talk and he filled me in on the events of the previous day.

Below is a compilation of some details I heard from several combatants and not necessarily from Capt. Tigh:

Turns out that small demonstrations turned big and violent after some of Kahn's men and suspected Iranian instigators urged and paid of a young group of men to go after the U.N. buildings in town to "protest" the removal of Ismail Kahn.
The riot would last for hours and become increasingly violent. Rocks would eventually turn into hand grenades and patience into bullets. The Afghan National Police is blamed for much of the shooting, but the ANA also did their fair share, although much more disciplined and generally as warning shots.
The Herat Provincial Reconstruction Team was also attacked, a battle that was primarily Neaderthal, with both sides throwing rocks at each other. Reservists from Texas (I think) carried the bulk of that battle. "Equal force" said one sergeant.
The PRT is right in downtown. I was actually shocked to see it there. I've seen many PRTs, but never on in the middle of the city. A relatively small walled compound with houses all around it. Some taller than the PRT's walls. I can only imagine what this rock fight looked like.
After the riot, many of the PRT's soldiers had bandages from being beaned. In fact I saw Colonel Hipwell with a bandage on his face and later would see the wound; took a rock to the jaw. I've heard that Purple Hearts are under consideration for many of the rock injuries. Not sure of I agree with that, but I wasn't there.
There was also several cases of coalition soldiers getting surrounded and some rather brave acts occurring to limit casualties.
In one instance, ANA and some ETT's were trapped in a building with no communication. Even cell phones were dead. Then all of a sudden, one of the Terps' cell phone rings, giving them a way out. A call to someone, who called someone got some helicopters to land on a the rooftops of small buildings to evacuate people.
One ETT told me that as he lay prone in the street, he watched one of his ANA soldiers sprinting down the road toward coalition lines, the dust of bullets hitting at his feet,
One of those same helicopters was almost hit by an RPG, an attack that would draw the only American fire that I could find during the entire riot. In all, approximately 20 conventional Americans and 100 ANA and ANP were involved in the contact. U.S Special Forces were also involved. I can't determine at all if they fired their weapons, but I do know they used non-lethal "flash-bang" grenades and smoke to disperse the crowd. Reports of tear gas by U.S. forces have no merit. Not only that, but I have never personally seen gas of any type employed or carried by coalition forces.
However, at the end of the day, the casualties were high: At least 5 Afghan civilians were killed and at least 54 Afghans injured or wounded. On the coalition side, more than a dozen ANA injured, either by rocks or shrapnel from a grenade. The serious injuries had one guy take some in the eye, another in the chest. Two Americans also got hit, but the injuries were relatively light.
Three U.N. buildings were looted and burned and dozens of vehicles were destroyed or seriously damaged. Only a dozen or so even made it out of town to the safety of the ANA base just south of the city, many with no windows One with a bullet hole and blood in it.
By Monday, Kahn was gone and so was the violence. No one knows where he went, but it's believed his family is in Iran. Kahn fled to Iran in 1997 after breaking out of a Taliban prisoner with help from a sympathetic guard. A break across the desert nearly ended when his vehicle hit a mine. For Kahn, a stroke of luck, escaping with just a broken leg. Just before his ouster, he had applied for 185 visas to Iran, so understand that his connection to Iran is strong.
Now, the Lion of Herat is on the lose again. Intelligence reports indicate Kahn was handing out weapons, many to Iranians that have been coming across the border. One figure I've heard is 1,500 men. His tanks are all in coalition hands awaiting DDR, but that doesn't mean this wily old man isn't up to something.

Later that I made my way the half mile down to the north end of the airport to where the Indiana guys got stationed. It was a place that looked like a mud brick castle, complete with a tower and all, In the bunker was a room like you see in the movies complete with a huge plexi glass map standing vertical against one wall.
Not quite like the movies. Again, everything is brown here. The glass on the windows is also long gone. Time and neglect has definitely taken its toll. The guys were claiming rooms and taking up shop. Actually a neat place overall.
After visiting, I walked back toward the ANA camp. By now the wind had really picked up and I was battling the dust. On my way I passed a "boneyard". This is a place that can be found around the country. All they are, are graveyards for an incredible amount of destroyed Soviet-era equipment. The best I've been in was Shindand,, but this one was good too. No less than 15 MiG-somethings in one phase of decay or another. There was also radar equipment, comm trucks, helicopters you name it. What made this boneyard so different though, was the amount of personal type items, all in great condition: Gas Masks, rubber suits, manual, ammunition and the.... a Soviet helmet. A little later I found an Afghan helmet still painted with it's insignia! Holy crap! Two helmets in great shape, including the interior and strap. Great finds. Made my day twice.
What else made my day is a little more personal. When I was growing up, I was a lucid dreamer about World War II. I always wanted to go to the Hurtgen Forest in Germany and climb on old tanks. I wanted to see landing craft rusting on the beach. I wanted to find German helmets (my favorite) under a pile of leaves. Just daydreams/ Now, I'm standing on the wing of an old warplane, all shot to hell, and surrounded by miles and miles of old war. I was actually standing in the place I always dreamt of standing. I just stood there on the wing of a MiG-21 a looked around me. All I could do was once again imagine, just like I did when I was a kid. Except this time it was real. The MiG-21 was just as well a JU-88 Stuka dive bomber, and I couldn't have been more elated.