- guardian.co.uk, Sunday April 21 2002 02.42 BST
The hillsides are bare now. The Marines have pulled back to their base at the old Soviet-built airstrip at Bagram 200 miles to the north. British and American special forces are still keeping watch on the areas they swept during Operation Ptarmigan but, for now, there is an 'operational pause'.
The Allied forces, and their enemy, are waiting, refitting, recuperating. Very soon, according to senior Allied military figures, the real battle is likely to start.
'[The operation] is event-driven rather than date-driven,' Major General Frank 'Buster' Hagenback, the US soldier in command told The Observer. 'There are numerous operations involving coalition forces from many nations, some of which will involve British and US forces in the next couple of days.'
Operation Ptarmigan lasted most of last week and involved about 300 Marines. They were helicoptered into a valley at 12,000 ft that had been cleared of al-Qaeda troops by the Americans in a hard-fought setpiece battle last month. There were fears that units loyal to Osama bin Laden were moving back into the area and the soldiers were sent to flush them out. Senior officers say the UK combat troops in Afghanistan are there to destroy any al-Qaeda elements or to deny them opportunity to regroup.
In the event, they had fled, leaving a dozen or so caves empty but for some anti-aircraft ammunition and computer discs that are being analysed by intelligence experts.
But though Ptarmigan proved that the Marines can operate in the harsh, high-altitude environment they will be fighting in this summer, nobody doubts the hard work is still to come. Last night, another 130 men arrived at Bagram, bringing the Marines close to full strength. Intelligence specialists are assessing possible targets for the next operations.
There is a strong wish to move soon. Lieutenant Colonel Tim Chicken, the Falklands veteran commanding the 650 Royal Marines of 45 Commando, the lead element of the British combat forces committed to Afghanistan, said: 'Maintaining the operational tempo is important.' His men, soldiers on the base say, are 'psyched'.
While Ryan was climbing into his Chinook and being flown back to Bagram, Second Lieutenant Mike Carty was in a coach on the M1. He and his 30 men were being driven from the 45 Commando base at Arbroath, eastern Scotland, to RAF Brize Norton, from where a Tristar would take them to Kabul and then by truck to Bagram.
'There was masses of nervous excitement, really high spirits. There was so much uncertainty over whether we would be coming that it was a huge relief to really arrive,' said Carty, 20, from Worcester.
Carty described how the men he commands were desperate to 'close with the enemy and kill them. We do the whites-of-the-eyes stuff. The guys are champing at the bit to get out and engage the enemy. It'll be a big disappointment if we go home without any contact. It's an amazing opportunity for me.'
The Marines have set up their tents in long rows on land painstakingly cleared of mines. Warnings about straying from cleared areas are everywhere. Nine men have been killed or injured by them since November. There are also frequent security warnings. Last week a US soldier in Kandahar was shot at and yesterday a French peacekeeper was wounded by gunmen in Kabul. There are fears there may be an attempt to kill the Afghan king, who returned last Thursday after a 29-year exile. The environment is characterised as 'tense and volatile'.
Few sleep well. Just yards away from the ranks of tents, Chinooks fly in and out, ferrying supplies and special forces squads to the battle-zones in the mountains around the eastern towns of Gardez and Khost where most of the remnants of al-Qaeda are moving. This is where the Marines are likely to mount their first major operation.
There have been signs that the al-Qaeda leadership is becoming more confident. Significantly, the video aired by the al-Jazeera Arabic-language television channel last week, showing bin Laden and his deputy Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri in what purported to be Afghanistan, was delivered directly to their offices in Qatar rather than to intermediaries in Pakistan as before. Bin Laden also posted a statement on a website 10 days ago pledging 'the struggle will continue against the oppressors'.
There are fears bin Laden and his chief aides are in Pakistan, just across the border, where they know the British and Americans cannot find them. US intelligence specialists have picked up increased communications traffic between suspected al-Qaeda elements in the area and have traced major transfers of funds to key bin Laden sympathisers which they believe are to be used for re-equipping, especially with communications equipment to co-ordinate the fragmented units.
It is clear both sides are hoping to fight a similar war: swift and based on short, focused operations that will wreak maximum damage in the shortest possible time, with minimum casualties. Where the Allies have massive firepower and training, al-Qaeda has fanaticism.
Such concerns do not bother Carty. 'We were very depressed when it looked like the Marines weren't going to get anything. There was a bit of a morale problem,' he said. 'Now the blokes are just excited about taking the opportunity we have got.'
