High above the border province of Pak-tika, in eastern Afghanistan, nato airwaves crackle and shriek. "Kandahar this is Card Shark Seven-Eight at ten", a Texan twang rings over the radio. An Australian dispatcher guides a different aeroplane: "Charlie Lima approved for niner zero". "Pyramid One-One are you on this frequency?" bellows another American. Unplug the radio and, from cruising altitude aboard an American refuelling aircraft, Afghanistan's border with Pakistan seems calm. But nato air traffic tells a different story.
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