Afghan success about gaining trust of the people

MUSA QALA, Afghanistan (Reuters) - For the British soldiers stationed in Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan's insurgent-ridden Helmand province, success is not so much about building schools and wells but gaining the trust of the people.

While the small and dusty town of Musa Qala, sitting on the edge of a small tributary, may lack the strategic importance of other towns located along the main Helmand River, its history has given it iconic status and the British want to make their mark.

In the past three years, the town has passed from the Taliban to the British, to tribal elders, to the Taliban and for the last year now back to British and Afghan government troops.

"The population were quite wary at the beginning of whether we were going to stay," Major Toby Jackman says, sitting outside the operations center at the main base in Musa Qala -- a concrete building dubbed the "Taliban Hotel" after its former inhabitants.

"They have seen an ebbing and flowing of different people. The way to success here was that we needed to gain the acceptance of the people," Jackman told Reuters.

To the north and south of the main base are two small bases, acting as the "frontline" with the Taliban. Reluctant to use the word "control," the British say they now have "influence" over an area measuring 10 km (6 miles) from north to south.

While U.S. President Barack Obama tells his European allies they must contribute more to win the war in Afghanistan, success on the ground is slow and is more likely to be achieved with low-tech counter-insurgency tactics aimed at winning over the people.

One of the ways the British military has been trying to reach out to the population inside the Musa Qala security "envelope" is through Military Stabilization Support Teams (MSST), who try to assess local needs by talking to the Afghan residents.

The teams are made up of soldiers in uniform, with specialized training and are embedded within a company. The concept is not new to the British military, Jackman says, but is one that has re-emerged since the British arrived in Afghanistan.

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At Patrol Base Woqab in the north, the MSST consists of two soldiers that accompany foot patrols around the base. Their aim is to engage villagers and find out their needs and complaints.

"When we first came, people wouldn't speak to us unless we stopped them. Now they shout at us from across the fields," says Warrant Officer Duncan Hedges, who makes up one half of the team. "We spent four months just getting to know them," he says.

Broad-shouldered and towering well over six feet tall, the white-bearded Hedges, who studied the local language, Pashto, for 15 months. He has made quite an impression on the local population, even earning him the nickname "Delawar Khan" or "Brave King."

He and his MSST partner, Sergeant Sharon Goodall have spent the last six months talking and listening to the locals and have slowly managed to build up a level of trust.

"Some people measure success in terms of how many buildings they have built. Our success is not measured from building anything except relationships," said Hedges.

The MSST are now negotiating with the mullah, or religious elder, in the area to help renovate the local mosque and have dealt with numerous compensation claims after crops were damaged by soldiers out on patrol.

While poppy is still a major crop around Musa Qala -- Helmand alone produces half the world's opium -- the MSST has been paying farmers immediately around the patrol base not to grow maize as the tall plants provide ideal cover for the insurgents.

"The farmers are more than willing as they don't want to provide cover for the Taliban and don't want any fighting on their land," said Hedges.

The approach seems to have paid off with villagers regularly approaching the bases, often at great risk to themselves, warning soldiers of insurgent movements or of roadside bombs.

While the area around Musa Qala, where the British soldiers have a presence, is relatively small, it seems to have had a measurable impact on those living inside it.

"Since the foreign troops came, security has got a little better. Before, we couldn't go too far from our house because of the Taliban. Now we can move around 10 km (6 miles) from our house," said Kashwi Sawadi, from a nearby village.

The main focus of the British soldiers remains in providing security, with insurgents still launching almost daily attacks on outlying bases, but says Jackman, the area of "influence" has allowed some form of governance to return.

"Don't get me wrong, there's a way to go. This is counter insurgency on a small scale," said Jackman.

(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)