Somewhere East Of Iran, A War Is Brewing

Maybe we could call it the conflict forgot, or the war to forget all wars. It's been almost invisible since the triumphant arrival of American forces on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, way back in the winter of 2001-2002. (For the record, the journalists got there first.)

Don't count on it staying that way. Afghanistan is getting hot, and the prime fighting season is just around the corner.

Somewhere east of Iran, a war is brewing.

A tip from Xeni Jardin at Boing Boing led me to the embedded reporting of WIRED Magazine's defense technology reporter Noah Shachtman from some of the hottest fighting of the summer:

For three days, the Marines of Echo Company wondered when the next one would come. Since they got here at the beginning of July, Echo has been in a near-constant series of battles with the local Taliban, making this one of the most violent flashpoints in America’s renewed war in Afghanistan. On Thursday, election day, militants woke Echo up by firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifle rounds into the school compound these Marines now use as an outpost. It was the 39th day out of 50 that the Taliban and Echo had exchanged lead.