In Kandahar, the Taliban’s most powerful weapon has become the calculated assassination. The tools of this campaign are rudimentary — ropes, knives, old rifles — but the results have been devastating. By executing those who work or sympathize with the government, the Taliban has made clear that those supporting the American military effort here are risking their lives. Each new death brings more dread in a city of hunters and hunted.
“They’re watching us. We don’t know who, but they’re watching,” Ahmad said. “Nowhere is safe. We cannot escape.”
The killings take aim at the fundamental goal of the U.S. military’s planned summer offensive in Kandahar: to build a credible local government that responds to the needs of the people. In the past month, about six people have quit the already understaffed provincial government, and other federal ministry representatives in the province have taken leave. Targeted by bombs and killings of their local staff, foreigners working for U.S. government contractors and the United Nations have fled for Kabul.