"Rough times in the Arghandab"--for the US Army

Further to this post,

The unit taking the most fatalities at Kandahar is American

BruceR. at Flit analyzes the nature and challenge of operations in the district (and explains how the main "ring road" in Afstan is being pretty effectively defended against IEDs).

More on roads, in this case Helmand:

...
Perhaps the most tangible evidence of the new approach is road-building. The International Security Assistance Force is forging into enemy territory with the help of a cheap, resilient, honeycomb-like frame that stabilises and reinforces soft soil and sandy roads, and allows them to be laid quickly. There are 14 miles of road due to be completed by the spring, but if successful, the Neoweb system could be used extensively across Helmand and beyond.

The benefits could be immense. Roads demonstrate that ISAF has fulfilled its promise to help local people get their produce to market before it rots. Journey times to the economic hub at Gereshk will be cut from four hours to half an hour.

New roads will also allow the British patrol bases strung out along the route to be more easily resupplied. Between the bases there will be Afghan-run checkpoints, and much of the route will be monitored by advanced CCTV cameras, some hung from barrage balloons – a scene reminiscent of the First World War [more on roads at 1) here]...