Afghan National Army soldiers sit in the back of a pickup in the village of Bazaar e Panjwai, in Kandahar. Reuters Fighting Taliban — If US Patrols Can Find Them -- Yahoo News/AP
TATAR, Afghanistan – Lt. Eric Schwirian speaks softly, smiles a lot and shakes many wary hands during his platoon's three-day trek deep into an Afghan valley, looking for a fight with the Taliban.
But while thousands of extra troops have poured into Afghanistan this year in an escalating conflict, this unit in the central Afghan province of Wardak has barely had a sighting of its quarry.
It's frustrating for these infantrymen to feel as though they're chasing ghosts among the villages and terraced fields, but their daily routine — patience, presence, tea-drinking and handshakes — is central to America's counterinsurgency strategy.
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