ANIZAI, Afghanistan - There was a time in Afghanistan when the Taliban controlled every aspect of daily life. In this tiny village in central Zhari district, the former rulers still maintain a tight grip on the local population, using the oldest tool in the book: terror.
By Afghan standards, the village of Anizai is prosperous: Grape orchards are large and plentiful, vast fields of drying marijuana rustle in the breeze and the nearby Arghandab River provides irrigation and water for flocks of sheep in the fields.
But this region, the birthplace of the Taliban, is still haunted by its former masters. It is remote enough to mute the influence of Canadian and NATO troops, allowing Taliban supporters to use it as a launching pad for anti-coalition attacks.
A recent Canadian-led mission to Anizai led to the death of 21 Taliban supporters and the arrest of 27 more. But as Canadian soldiers went from compound to compound, it became clear that the people are still living in fear.
"In the night we are not allowed to go outside because the Taliban are warning us," the headmaster of a local school whispered, looking furtively over his shoulder.
Anyone spotted outside at night is immediately presumed to be linked to the Afghan government or coalition forces, known as the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.
"If a child gets out in the night after eight o'clock they are going to shoot him regardless the reason," the headmaster said as he fingered his prayer beads.
"They think they are spies of ISAF or the Kabul government, and are going to give some information about the Taliban."
The headmaster's school teaches both boys and girls, a rarity in Afghanistan. He takes the school's books home with him so they don't get burned.
"I am afraid of the Taliban. If you stay here for one month I am happy," he said. "This tribe belongs to (Afghan President) Hamid Karzai, so the Taliban don't like these tribes."
The haunting howl of the Muslim call to prayer can be heard five times a day, blaring from loudspeakers at the local mosque.
A more recent message was not so peaceful.
"They broadcast over the speakers from the mosque and tell us we cannot go out past eight o'clock or we will die," said one farmer, his small children peering out from behind him.
"The Taliban are using this area at night. People are not allowed to go outside. If we go outside at night the Taliban will shoot us."
The area's Taliban commander doesn't live in Anizai, but uses it as a staging area for attacks, villagers say. He reportedly stays in a different village each night to avoid getting caught.
"The fact that someone would kill their own people if they're out after a certain hour just amazes me," said Lieut. Aaron Corey of 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont., who was leading a patrol in the area.
"It's one of the big issues. It's why we're here trying to increase the security in the area and if this helps, I'm glad."
Capt. Sam Rogers, the head of a Canadian team specializing in psychological operations, or "psy-ops," among local Zhari villagers, said the Taliban have stepped up their traditional patterns of intimidation.
No longer satisfied to quietly attach threatening letters to front doors by night, insurgents and their supporters are getting even bolder.
"They're actually coming to people's homes and knocking on the door and intimidating them face-to-face," Rogers said.
"That's one of the reasons we're down here. We're observing the day-to-day activities and are looking to counter any intimidation that we see out there."
One of Canada's top generals raised the issue after a suicide bomber blew up a tanker truck outside the provincial council offices in Kandahar city earlier this month.
"They're reverting back to the pure terror tactics that they used to exercise here a couple of years ago," said Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, commander of Canada's land force, during a recent visit to Kandahar Airfield.
"For a while they tried to take us on in a toe-to-toe confrontation, and now they're going back to terrorizing their own population."
