:00:00. > :00:19.Now on BBC News it is time for this week's reporters.
:00:20. > :00:26.Hello and welcome to a special edition of reporters, as Britain and
:00:27. > :00:29.America are prepared to withdraw their last remaining troops from
:00:30. > :00:34.Afghanistan this year, we have a range of reports from correspondents
:00:35. > :00:40.across the country on challenges facing Afghanistan in 2014. In this
:00:41. > :00:44.week's programme... Heading home, David Lloyd joins US forces as tens
:00:45. > :00:52.of thousands prepare to leave Afghanistan. The international
:00:53. > :00:56.forces leave Afghanistan facing an uncertain future, with insurgents
:00:57. > :01:05.threatening much of the countryside and a weak and corrupt government.
:01:06. > :01:09.Caroline visits the British backed training facility that has its first
:01:10. > :01:14.female officers. TRANSLATION: violence against women is a constant
:01:15. > :01:18.story on the news here and women are far from equal in a society dollar
:01:19. > :01:26.by men. Tackling the Taliban, on patrol with Afghan forces.
:01:27. > :01:29.Afghanistan in 2014 is the country faces an uncertain future, we have
:01:30. > :01:35.been finding out how Afghans feel about their prospects for peace.
:01:36. > :01:39.Afghans here and across the country are left to wonder and worry what
:01:40. > :01:45.happens next. Whether their lives will get better or will they get
:01:46. > :01:51.much worse? In the final flight of the Dambusters, we catch up with the
:01:52. > :01:56.British RAF legendary 617 Squadron ahead of their last mission in
:01:57. > :02:00.Afghanistan. For the men and women of the Dambusters, this is the end
:02:01. > :02:06.of an error. It is the last time they will fly these tornadoes.
:02:07. > :02:10.Welcome. 2014 marks a major year of change for Afghanistan. By the end
:02:11. > :02:16.of the year, the country will be on its own and new Afghan president is
:02:17. > :02:21.due to be elected and British and American forces will be gone. On the
:02:22. > :02:25.US side, President Obama has pledged to 34,000 American troops, half of
:02:26. > :02:31.them, we'll leave it the end of the month, the rest will follow later in
:02:32. > :02:40.the year. We joins US forces in the region in Kurdistan. All-terrain
:02:41. > :02:43.armoured vehicles that were rubbish into production that are rushed into
:02:44. > :02:46.production to deal with roadside bombs in Afghanistan are now on
:02:47. > :02:53.their way out of the country as the war winds down. They are flown over
:02:54. > :02:57.the stunning snow peaks in northern Afghanistan towards a main
:02:58. > :03:05.collection centre before their onward flight out of the country.
:03:06. > :03:08.International forces leave Afghanistan facing an uncertain
:03:09. > :03:11.future, with insurgents threatening much of the countryside and a weak
:03:12. > :03:15.and corrupt government. The war is any not because it has been one but
:03:16. > :03:19.because it is on a timetable drawn up in London and Washington. Follow
:03:20. > :03:25.the lives lost and money spent, it could have been so much better.
:03:26. > :03:30.Troops bore the same plane, this is redeployment on an industrial scale.
:03:31. > :03:35.Buying a round-the-clock as America's withdrawal moves up a
:03:36. > :03:39.gear. The relief is visible as men relax for the first time after seven
:03:40. > :03:44.months in Afghanistan. On the ground, the trend of base in
:03:45. > :03:55.Kurdistan already feels a long way from the war. -- Kyrgyzstan. It is a
:03:56. > :03:58.running Trail within our parameters and folks like to go out there for
:03:59. > :04:03.the first time, started the compressed, they will go out there
:04:04. > :04:07.and walk on the trials and for them in the last six months, the first
:04:08. > :04:10.time they have not been shot at or no mortar rounds and they get to see
:04:11. > :04:14.green trees and take a deep breath and relax. For some, catching up on
:04:15. > :04:18.sleep before they make the long journey home is another. Their
:04:19. > :04:24.mission this time has been to hand over to the Afghan National Army.
:04:25. > :04:27.Nick developed, a medic working in the US Marines has come out of
:04:28. > :04:33.Helmand province after his second tour. I love Afghanistan. I was very
:04:34. > :04:39.home. The Afghan National Army are doing their part. As far as the
:04:40. > :04:45.Taliban goes, they are still doing their part. It is going to be a cat
:04:46. > :04:51.announced game. The Taliban will do something and then the ANA will
:04:52. > :04:55.counteract. I don't think it is the end of the war. We'll be back there
:04:56. > :04:59.sometime. A final journey home is through one of the world's more
:05:00. > :05:07.secure -- unusual security checks that allows assault rifles through
:05:08. > :05:13.and baggage. The Kurdistan government wants this base closed by
:05:14. > :05:19.July. The US will lose its only military footprint in Central Asia.
:05:20. > :05:23.-- Kyrgyzstan. Britain pulled out nearly 4000 of its troops last year
:05:24. > :05:27.and as its remaining, troops prepare to leave Afghanistan later this
:05:28. > :05:34.year, one of the UK's lasting legacies is its training of Afghan
:05:35. > :05:40.forces. It has helped set up a training academy nickname Sandhurst
:05:41. > :05:46.in the sand after the elite British School and it is training its first
:05:47. > :05:49.female cadets. We have been speaking to the first Afghan women trainers.
:05:50. > :05:54.Afghanistan was like Army has never been afraid to fight. This country
:05:55. > :05:58.'s reputation as the graveyard of empires speaks for itself. Now,
:05:59. > :06:05.rising from the plains outside Kabul, buildings that will form a
:06:06. > :06:12.permanent home of officer academy. Aimed at instilling leadership and a
:06:13. > :06:14.British Army ethos perhaps. This lieutenant has joined her British
:06:15. > :06:19.colleagues here is the first Afghan female trainer to arrive in what has
:06:20. > :06:26.been nickname Sandhurst in the sand where tents so as -- serve as
:06:27. > :06:30.temporary classrooms. Inside, the Afghan trainers themselves have been
:06:31. > :06:33.trained to teach. The tenant is 28 and comes from an Afghan family --
:06:34. > :06:39.Army family. Her British mentors are keen to make sure that women are
:06:40. > :06:44.treated equally here, and equality that Afghanistan has yet to achieve.
:06:45. > :06:47.TRANSLATION: she says violence against women is a constant story on
:06:48. > :06:58.the news here. Women are far from equal in society dominated by men.
:06:59. > :07:01.In the gym here, though, Afghan male officers and trainers are having to
:07:02. > :07:08.get used to training alongside women. Including British instructor
:07:09. > :07:14.staff Sergeant Kate Lord. She's teaching the Afghan silence that
:07:15. > :07:19.have arrived. It is exciting and nice to be part of something new and
:07:20. > :07:23.history. My past the roles have been completely different. It is nice to
:07:24. > :07:26.be meant touring and have 1-to-1 mentoring. You do feel you are
:07:27. > :07:31.making a difference. The academy aims to train around 100 female
:07:32. > :07:34.national army officers every year all around the 10th of the total.
:07:35. > :07:40.The first female cadets will be chosen this April and they will
:07:41. > :07:44.start training here in June. The hope is that the Sandhurst ethos
:07:45. > :07:50.will translate to this very different culture and bring
:07:51. > :07:54.leadership the Army wants. An Army increasingly bearing the brunt of
:07:55. > :08:01.the fight against the Taliban with no end in sight. As US and UK troops
:08:02. > :08:06.withdraw from Afghanistan this year, what has been achieved? Are
:08:07. > :08:12.they leaving in Afghanistan that is any safer than before they came?
:08:13. > :08:18.There are growing signs that the Taliban is making a concerted
:08:19. > :08:23.comeback. Afghan army forces gave BBC cameraman rare access as they
:08:24. > :08:32.confronted the Taliban advance in rural Helmand province. Traffic
:08:33. > :08:37.stops as shots ring out. This is the main road through Helmand province.
:08:38. > :08:40.The police returned fire. Fighting a shadowy enemy that is growing in
:08:41. > :08:48.strength here all the time. The telephone use these cars to ram a
:08:49. > :08:51.police convoy. Every morning after prayers this police officer goes out
:08:52. > :09:00.searching for roadside bombs that have been laid overnight. Today, he
:09:01. > :09:05.says, he diffused six. This is the Hall made by one police unit in a
:09:06. > :09:13.week. Including shells, ammunition, suicide vest components and
:09:14. > :09:16.explosives. Security here feels far worse than at the peak of British
:09:17. > :09:20.and American involvement two years ago. They have now withdrawn from
:09:21. > :09:26.the countryside into a handful of base is ahead of their pullout at
:09:27. > :09:29.the end of the year. This driver says the Taliban are like evil
:09:30. > :09:34.spirits and when he set out on a journey, it he does not count
:09:35. > :09:42.himself among the living until he arrives. Afghan police set out from
:09:43. > :09:47.a base with British troops -- where British troops moved until a year
:09:48. > :09:54.ago. They patrol trap pockmarked by frequent explosions. The area of
:09:55. > :09:57.control is very small. Beyond the canal, the green shoots of this
:09:58. > :10:02.year's Poppy crop are coming through. But she was a record
:10:03. > :10:09.harvest. Most of the world's illegal opium comes from Helmand province.
:10:10. > :10:14.After a half-hearted patrol, police returned to relative safety. Losing
:10:15. > :10:21.off a view rounds over the hill. It is not all bad news, the police are
:10:22. > :10:24.far better trained and equipped, are diffusing many bombs, seizing
:10:25. > :10:29.explosives and ammunition, it is not peace. Was David Cameron right when
:10:30. > :10:36.he recently called this mission accomplished? Yes, the army, the
:10:37. > :10:40.police are now capable of doing the mission. You are not going to lose
:10:41. > :10:45.Helmand? We're not going to lose. No matter what happens. There is no
:10:46. > :10:52.question of losing any sight of Helmand province all Kandahar. A
:10:53. > :10:58.nation scarred by war is still not at peace. Afghanistan has seen
:10:59. > :11:03.foreign armies come and go. The worst of the fighting tearing the
:11:04. > :11:06.country apart. That was after the Russians left in 1989. Common eating
:11:07. > :11:18.in the rise of the Taliban, the fear is that this year it could happen
:11:19. > :11:22.again. The Taliban are also clear and present David -- danger in
:11:23. > :11:25.neighbouring Pakistan. A string of attacks have killed more than 100
:11:26. > :11:28.people since the start of the year. There is a huge debate in the
:11:29. > :11:32.country whether to talk to the Pakistani Taliban or fight them.
:11:33. > :11:43.People are growing increasingly frustrated with the leaders for not
:11:44. > :11:48.making a decision. Be ironed every statistic, after every militant
:11:49. > :11:53.attack in Pakistan, is a scene like this. Here, they are mourning the
:11:54. > :12:00.loss of a man who was a father, husband, brother and son. He was
:12:01. > :12:06.killed by a suicide bomber close to the Pakistani headquarters. From a
:12:07. > :12:09.modest background, he had been the first in his family to join the
:12:10. > :12:15.military. They say he wanted to serve his country. TRANSLATION: He
:12:16. > :12:22.was so happy he was a soldier, says his brother. He used a look at
:12:23. > :12:27.pictures where he was wearing his uniform. He was very proud. This is
:12:28. > :12:32.where he and 12 other people were killed in the bombing claimed by the
:12:33. > :12:36.Pakistani Taliban. It is one of a series of attacks in recent days,
:12:37. > :12:39.and it has put immense pressure on the leaders of the country to break
:12:40. > :12:45.out of their apparent indecision and make a concerted move into stopping
:12:46. > :12:54.the bloodshed. With opinion on the right thing to do about the Taliban
:12:55. > :12:58.is divided. We feel that military options should be when everything
:12:59. > :13:03.else has been exhausted. Peace should be given a chance through
:13:04. > :13:07.dialogue. Others think that after Robbie Killingbeck needs to be a
:13:08. > :13:12.major army operation against the Pakistani Taliban as soon as
:13:13. > :13:16.possible. The confusion that is being created regarding whether the
:13:17. > :13:26.government should be talking to them or not is, I feel, giving more
:13:27. > :13:32.strength and time to the TTP to regroup and reorganise themselves.
:13:33. > :13:40.Thousands of Pakistanis have now faced the same fate. The uniform
:13:41. > :13:44.this man was so proud of wearing has been returned to his family,
:13:45. > :13:50.shredded and bloodstained. They want to ensure other families don't go
:13:51. > :13:54.through the same suffering. This year, we will also see Afghans
:13:55. > :13:57.choosing a new president. Campaigning for presidential
:13:58. > :14:05.elections begins this week, and the elections are expected to take place
:14:06. > :14:13.on the fifth. The candidates include several warlords who were prominent
:14:14. > :14:19.in the civil war of the 1990s. 21 years ago, at the height of the
:14:20. > :14:26.Afghan war, hundreds of people were massacred here in couple. This man
:14:27. > :14:36.lost his father and brother-in-law and watched mass rape. TRANSLATION:
:14:37. > :14:42.Men stuck a knife into week Iran being carried by a woman for
:14:43. > :14:51.protection. 78 raped her. The man named in a number of a report on who
:14:52. > :14:58.carried out the massacre is now running for president. He denies
:14:59. > :15:09.killing anyone in the civil war. Believe me, no one was killed by my
:15:10. > :15:17.hand. You believe it or not, but God knows this. Were men and you'll
:15:18. > :15:26.command not responsible? I was the commander of many people, but as I
:15:27. > :15:32.have told, the programme of the infighting came from outside. It was
:15:33. > :15:38.imposed on Afghan people. In 2010, he and other warlords won immunity
:15:39. > :15:43.for crimes committed your into civil war. Three others are also running
:15:44. > :15:47.as vice presidential candidates. He was also named in the US official
:15:48. > :16:00.account has the mental of the mastermind of the 911 attacks. --
:16:01. > :16:12.mentor. Afghans are worried about the lack
:16:13. > :16:17.of jobs, corruption, insecurity, and what will happen when foreign troops
:16:18. > :16:20.leave. Any of the choices facing them as presidential candidates are
:16:21. > :16:23.stuck in the politics of the past. Some think these men are Great Wall
:16:24. > :16:29.leaders, defeating the Russians, and they could be respected for it.
:16:30. > :16:41.Others think they should go to jail -- war leaders. Democracy still has
:16:42. > :16:45.shallow roots here. With such dramatic changes on the
:16:46. > :16:55.horizon, how do Afghans feel about their prospects in 2014? We have
:16:56. > :17:03.been to one place in Parwan Province. The year has started with
:17:04. > :17:05.the mildest of winters and the greatest uncertainty. Afghans have
:17:06. > :17:08.lived through unpredictable times before. This main road running north
:17:09. > :17:11.was the route taken by Soviet soldiers when they pulled out in the
:17:12. > :17:19.winter of 1989. This moment is different. This man fought against
:17:20. > :17:29.Soviet troops, but now he wants NATO forces to stay. Our own forces are
:17:30. > :17:32.still weak, he tells me. We aren't able to protect ourselves. There is
:17:33. > :17:35.Taliban here, supported, he says, by neighbouring Pakistan. There is an
:17:36. > :17:39.echo of that history now in this year when NATO forces are pulling
:17:40. > :17:42.out after more than a decade in Afghanistan. Yet again, Afghans here
:17:43. > :17:49.and across the country are left to wonder, to worry, what happens next.
:17:50. > :18:00.Will their own lives get better or will they get much worse? This
:18:01. > :18:06.farmer already knows the answer. We find him cleaning his assault rifle.
:18:07. > :18:31.It is not the only weapon he has hidden at home. There are gun
:18:32. > :18:34.battles almost every night in this village, involving the Taliban,
:18:35. > :18:36.other armed groups, or criminals. TRANSLATION: no-one cares about us.
:18:37. > :18:38.Corrupt commanders attack us, the international community doesn't care
:18:39. > :18:41.about us, the government doesn't care either. Afghanistan has changed
:18:42. > :18:44.over the past decade. This woman has seen a change for the better.
:18:45. > :18:47.TRANSLATION: I am a housewife, a mother, a good teacher. Two years
:18:48. > :19:00.ago I became the school principal, the first woman to take this job in
:19:01. > :19:02.my village. She wants to be a role model for women here, including her
:19:03. > :19:06.daughters. That is why she has decided to run for a seat on the
:19:07. > :19:09.Provincial Council. TRANSLATION: We want to keep the concessions we have
:19:10. > :19:12.gained. If the foreigners leave, we will be in big trouble. They have
:19:13. > :19:19.supported us in many ways, even paying teachers' salaries. In
:19:20. > :19:28.Afghanistan, every season has its rituals, every situation is rules.
:19:29. > :19:38.-- every year its worries. This is their gear that could make all the
:19:39. > :19:43.difference. They are the Dambusters, and 70 years ago they
:19:44. > :19:47.helped turn the tide of the Second World War with daring raids over
:19:48. > :19:49.Germany. But, they have now flown for the last time in Afghanistan,
:19:50. > :20:33.before they disband next year. Even on the days, when the weather
:20:34. > :20:38.is not nice, when things are not going well, it is not about what we
:20:39. > :20:44.are doing. We are here to support the guys on the ground who are much
:20:45. > :20:49.more vulnerable than we are. Ben and his fellow at the aviators have
:20:50. > :20:55.provided air cover. Now, they will move on to new jobs in different
:20:56. > :21:00.squadrons. The planes themselves will be handed on to two squadrons
:21:01. > :21:04.that are taking over. But for the men and women of the Dambusters, it
:21:05. > :21:09.is the end of an era. It is the last time they will fly these planes, and
:21:10. > :21:20.foremost, although not all of them, it is a last tour of Afghanistan.
:21:21. > :21:28.They will reform, and a squadron will be a new one. As the squadron
:21:29. > :21:35.says goodbye, there will be sadness as it does its separate ways. Formed
:21:36. > :21:46.with just one task in 1953, the Dambusters have endured, and one day
:21:47. > :21:47.they will fly again. That is all from the special edition of
:21:48. > :22:20.reporters, -- Reporters. After much of the UK Intuit a stormy
:22:21. > :22:22.start, and little quieter in the day ahead. --