TORA, Afghanistan — Working underground in an old Soviet bunker, a group of Afghan civilians and French Foreign Legion officers busy themselves with a couple of laptop computers and microphones until someone shouts for silence. "We're on air!" a sergeant chief warns, as a sweet tune of flutes and chirping birds rises from a sound box. "Welcome to Surowbi Radio, your radio, by and for the people of Surowbi," a voice says in Pashto, the language of the Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. Launched in December by a French NATO regiment, the station is the first-ever FM broadcast in...
photo: US Army / Sgt. Teddy Wade
