LA Times is interesting these days.
latimes.com
The Spies Who Called the Shots
An Afghan network of Taliban foes risked their lives to gather information for
expatriate leaders and U.S. bombers.
By ERIC SLATER, Times Staff Writer
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan
-- Shivering in the dark
outside his uncle's mud
house, Nazak punched a
number into a $1,500
telephone, angled the phone's
antenna south toward a
communications satellite over
the Indian Ocean, and
pressed "OK."
"Salaam aleikum," rumbled a
voice on the other end.
"Peace be with you."
"Salaam aleikum," the
skinny, fine-featured
22-year-old replied in the
Afghan style. "I have some
coordinates."
"Go ahead," the voice said.
Nazak gave readings from a
global positioning system that
indicated the exact locations
of several buildings housing
Taliban fighters, munitions
and armor on the west end
of Kandahar. He detailed the
approximate dimensions of
the barracks and storage
sheds and of the open spaces
between them. He drew a
verbal picture of the
surrounding neighborhood of
mud-and-straw huts.
The men said goodnight and
hung up. It was Oct. 5.
Forty-eight hours later, U.S.
bombs rained down, leveling
much of the compound on
the first night of the war in
Afghanistan.
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