While most of the battles fought by US Marines in restive Farah province are against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and guns, Bowers, 30, is fighting a war of words to win the hearts and minds of people in rural western Afghanistan.

The radio station -- a portable deck and 45-foot (14-metre) antennae at the military base in Golestan -- began as a chance to give local villagers a taste of the music they were banned from hearing under the hardline Taliban rule.

"Ever since word got out, I've had people bringing me cassettes. To have this music now has such a strong impact on the people," said Bowers, who heads the Marines' civil affairs team.

"When I drive through the valleys and play local Pashtu music on the loud speaker, people out in the village are singing and dancing. A lot can be said for music changing things."

The station, which goes on air at 5:00 am and ends at 11:00 pm each day with the Afghan national anthem, takes song requests amid a schedule of prayer chants and official messages from the government and coalition forces.

But this week the station took on greater importance for the US Marines after Taliban insurgents launched their own propaganda drive after accusing them of defiling a mosque in nearby Bakwa.

Militants then fomented a riot involving about 200 protesters in Delaram, 36 kilometres (22 miles) from Golestan. Tyres were burnt in the street and rocks were thrown at Marines and Afghan soldiers, while rumours continued to escalate.

Troops were later accused of killing about 50 people during the ruckus, including a baby, but no evidence was found.

"It's a common tactic," said the commander of the 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines Company, Captain Francisco Xavier Zavala.

"The enemy tries to get you to open fire into the crowd. The whole propaganda thing is huge. Having the trust of the population is important."

To quash the rumours, the Afghan National Army's local commander, Mohammad Anwar Sakra, was swiftly called to record a radio message to play to villages.

"(The) Americans do not disrespect our culture and our country. Before they came here they learned from the Russians' (experience)," Sakra told people across the airwaves.

"Also they study for four months not to disrespect our females, our elders, our mosques and our culture. Whatever they did today is the enemy, not the Americans."

The broadcasts reach a potential 40,000 people in 107 villages surrounding Golestan, and Bowers' team have handed out 450 wind-up radios to overcome the lack of electricity in the mountainous region.

Sakra's message seemed to have got through to village elders called to an urgent meeting on Sunday at the US base to discuss the rumours.

Local census officer Hasim Khan addressed a crowd of about 60 elders to explain and deny the claims, before Zavala spoke to assure the villagers that the Marines would not abuse Afghan culture and religion.

"I have known the Marines for almost two years. They have a lot of respect for our mosques. Whatever they (insurgents) say, they're wrong," said one elder, 60-year-old Faiz Mohammed.

"Bring me the paper, I'm ready to sign it. These people are lying. The Marines have been very good to us," he added.

Marines said similar claims were made in Bakwa and eastern Kunar province in 2007.

But with the arrival of the radio station, foreign forces now no longer have to rely on fighting counter-propaganda with leaflet drops from planes.

"I burn the cassettes to CD and then add them to my iTunes playlist," said Bowers.

For now, government red tape means the radio station can only play music and official messages -- no DJs are allowed to sound off across the airwaves.

Bowers said he tries to mix local Pashtu music and Indian Bollywood film soundtracks with chants from the Koran at prayer times.

But some are still unhappy about the religious readings, feeling they recall a time under the Taliban when any other type of music was banned.

"The only thing I don't like is the Taliban-style music," said Amir Ahmed, 24. "I'd prefer to hear some jazz. Something to get us a bit excited."

earlier related report
Ex-army chief slams British PM over Afghanistan
Embattled British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office dismissed as "simply wrong" Tuesday a claim by the former head of the army that he rejected a request for more troops in Afghanistan this year.

General Richard Dannatt, who retired last month, told The Sun newspaper that a call for 2,000 extra soldiers had been declined and that the forces had to fight on with "at least part of one arm" tied behind their back.

But a Downing Street spokesman said: "Any suggestion that the prime minister has been unwilling to deploy more troops or provide the necessary resources is simply wrong.

"The key point here is that there were 7,800 troops in Afghanistan in the summer of 2007. Now there are over 9,000."

Dannatt said he was "disappointed" with ministers. "The military advice has been for an uplift since the beginning of 2009," he told The Sun.

"If the military says we need more troops and we can supply them, then frankly they should take that advice and deploy up to the level we recommend.

"If it means finding more resources and putting more energy in, let's do it... don't let's do it with at least part of one arm tied behind one's back."

Brown is facing persistent questions over the scope and purpose of the British military's role in Afghanistan amid a swiftly rising death toll.

US President Barack Obama is currently considering a request from US commander General Stanley McChrystal for more troops and considering future strategy.

Responding to Dannatt's comments, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it would review troop numbers in the wake of Afghanistan's presidential elections, which were held in August.

"We have long said that we would review troop numbers after the Afghan election, in light of military advice, the situation on the ground, and the outcome of international discussions on the McChrystal review," it said.

"Any decisions on future troop levels would be subject to... discussions with allies."

Armed forces minister Bill Rammell said there were always discussions between military chiefs and politicians on resources -- but warned that it was dangerous when rows erupted in public.

"Yes, conversations took place between ministers and service chiefs and ultimately with Number 10" Downing Street, Brown's office, he said on the sidelines of the main opposition Conservatives' conference in Manchester, northwest England.

"A number of options were looked at and the net result of that was that we uplifted troops by 700," he added.

But he added: "The detail of that I'm not going to get into because the day you have service chiefs and defence ministers arguing with each other publicly is the day you have real problems within the military.

"It will undermine our armed forces and undermine our soldiers on the frontline."

Dannatt had previously embarrassed the government while in his former job with straight-talking calls for more resources.

The row came as the MoD announced the death of another soldier in southern Afghanistan, taking to 220 the number of British troops who have died since operations against the Taliban extremists began in October 2001.

The soldier, from 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, was killed Monday on a foot patrol in the Nad Ali area of Helmand Province, the MoD said.

earlier related report
NATO faces battle to regain Taliban 'jewel' Kandahar
The US Army faces a major challenge to win back the Taliban's historic stronghold of Kandahar -- a key battleground in the increasingly bloody fight to control Afghanistan.

"Kandahar city is nationally critical," said Steve Biddle, from the Centre of Foreign Relations think tank in Washington. "It's one of the small number of places where a true setback could be a war loser."

A combat brigade of about 4,000 US soldiers has been sent to the volatile 54,000-square-kilometre (21,000-square-mile) southern province.

Until their arrival, just 2,800 Canadian troops had spent the last three years trying to ensure security for the province's 900,000 people.

"Taliban have always viewed Kandahar city as the jewel of the south and as their ultimate goal," said US intelligence officer Captain Mark Richardson. "They believe that what Kandahar does, all the Afghans will do."

As the Afghan conflict enters its ninth year, the Taliban in Afghanistan now control most of the 17 districts in the province and have spread into Kandahar, Afghanistan's second city and the movement's spiritual home.

In a sign of its importance to the NATO coalition, the heavily-guarded military base to the south of the city has grown into the second-biggest behind Bagram, near the capital Kabul.

Originally constructed for 12,000 people, the base now has between 30,000 and 40,000 occupants from all countries participating in NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations -- and is getting bigger.

Armoured vehicles stretch as far as the eye can see, as Black Hawk helicopters, F-16 fighter jets and cargo planes take off and land in conveyor-belt succession.

The United States has deployed the majority of the 21,000 extra soldiers sent by President Barack Obama to Kandahar and the neighbouring province of Helmand, which produces most of the world's opium.

"Taliban have been very active in the south and I think we ignored them for the most part and concentrated our effort in the east, where Al-Qaeda was more active," a Pentagon military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"We really lost control of areas in the south."

Officials and experts criticise the decision to send most of the reinforcements to Helmand, which is less populous than Kandahar and seen as less influential to the war-torn country's future.

"If we retake Kandahar, if the people are satisfied and development works, that will spread everywhere in Afghanistan. Afghans say that change comes from Kandahar," said a Western official familiar with the situation.

Three months after their arrival, US troops tasked with securing the main supply routes leading to Kabul, maintain they have had some successes.

"We have made incredible progress," said Richardson, pointing to the Taliban withdrawal from its stronghold in Arghandab district, north of Kandahar.

But it has come at a price. About 20 US soldiers have already been killed, most of them in attacks by the insurgents' weapon of choice, improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

And the battle is far from won, faced with a tenacious enemy and difficult terrain.

"Kandahar is a microcosm of the strategic problems of the country," said Biddle.

"There has to be a serious security force presence in the city. And the perception that it's better if it'd be Afghan is exactly right. However the Afghan government in Kabul has not been particularly supportive."

The Western official added: "The Taliban and others are taking advantage of the debate about troops and saying, 'the foreigners won't stay beyond two years'. That has had a negative impact on the population."

In addition, people here are victims of intimidation and racketeering by the Taliban, who often act with impunity. Several local leaders, fearing for their lives, do not even live in their own districts.

International forces accept that they have come up against the problem of corruption of local authorities, which is hampering efforts to win the support of the population.

The underpaid Afghan police are widely seen as corrupt. Many Afghans also accuse the head of the provincial council, Ahmed Wali Karzai whose brother is the Afghan president, of involvement in criminal activities including drug trafficking.

Rampant corruption is laying the foundations for insurrection, a number of international observers said on condition of anonymity.

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