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Private refiners turn homeward
In Afghanistan's Taliban heartland, U.S. soldiers walk a short distance from their camp into a village in mourning with a daunting offer: protection from the insurgents that live in the area.
A roadside bomb killed a father and son and the Americans have come to urge people to turn to them for protection, an offer that few Afghans in this area dare accept.
"The Taliban could find out we talked to you and kill us when we work in our fields," said 75-year-old farmer Haji Abdul Rahman, after describing how villagers had to retrieve the body parts of the father and son, who were riding a motorcycle when they were blown up.
The U.S. army patrol through Gurgan reflects how NATO's efforts to improve security to enable the Kabul government to provide better services to Afghans are making little headway.