WE RAN into the Taleban guerrillas only 24km (15 miles) south of the British base at Gereshk, half a dozen of them brazenly manning a checkpoint on a road to Lashkar Gah. They were bristling with weaponry and had belts of ammunition slung over their shoulders. They ordered us to stop, surrounded our four-wheel-drive vehicle and demanded to know who we were. There is another British base in Lashkar Gah, 30 miles to the south, and Camp Bastion, headquarters of the 3,400-strong British force in Helmand province, is not far to the west. But for now, at least, the Taleban...