KABUL, Afghanistan — After years of fighting for control
of a prominent valley in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan, the
United States military has begun to pull back most of its forces from ground it
once insisted was central to the campaign against the Taliban and Al
Qaeda.
The withdrawal from the Pech Valley, a remote region in Kunar
Province, formally began on Feb. 15. The military projects that it will last
about two months, part of a shift of Western forces to the province’s more
populated areas. Afghan units will remain in the valley, a test of their
military readiness.
While American officials say the withdrawal matches the latest
counterinsurgency doctrine’s emphasis on protecting Afghan civilians, Afghan
officials worry that the shift of troops amounts to an abandonment of territory
where multiple insurgent groups are well established, an area that Afghans fear
they may not be ready to defend on their own.
