But the residents’ asks were simple: “Our only request is for security,” said Bismillah Atash, a member of Baghlan’s provincial council. The Afghan and American leadership understood; it was something echoed often by those communities that teetered on the edge of Taliban and government control. General Sadat, the young commander whom the American military has come to adore and is often seen as the next generation of Afghan leadership, said his forces would take back the areas under Taliban control. The Americans listened through ear pieces as their interpreter talked quietly into a microphone at the front of the room. “Until the whole area is clear, we won’t leave,” General Sadat said.

Source: New York Times October 25, 2019 16:07 UTC