It marked an astonishing, perhaps unprecedented journalistic coup: in 2009, an Afghan video journalist managed to wrangle access to an overwhelmingly dangerous sector of Afghanistan - one of the northernmost sectors - that has subtly (and without making massive international headlines) reverted to control by the Taliban government. This journalist didn't enter once or twice: he did so regularly, every day for two weeks. He also somehow managed to document the activities of an insurgent terrorist cell, with direct ties to Al-Qaeda and concrete plans to infiltrate and sabotage a U.S./NATO supply route. As produced by WGBH for PBS's groundbreaking Frontline news series, this program draws on the said journalist's findings to provide key insights into a pivotal region of Afghanistan that is in danger of being ignored by the United States Military. In an additional segment, correspondent David Montero turns up and reports from Pakistan on the beleaguered public school system now present in that country - an educational system that qualifies hands-down as one of the worst in the world.
