On his home ground, back in Afghanistan’s embattled Helmand province, Payanda Mohammad refuses to give up his sidearm. He wore it proudly as a sign of his rank when he led a Taliban combat squad, and his family members still allow him to carry it—after they quietly and prudently made sure the firing pin was removed. They never know when he’ll fly into another unprovoked rage, or when he’ll experience another violent flashback to the battles he fought against U.S., British, and Afghan government forces around his home village in Nawa district, not far from Marja. It can take several people to wrestle him to the ground when he has one of his fits.
