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The quickest way out of Helmand is a hazardous drive to Kandahar, the neighboring province. Abdali arranged for us to be picked up at the border by a team of men belonging to the infamous police chief General Abdul Raziq. The list of accusations against him is long, and includes torture, murder and involvement in the opium trade, but that gave me the feeling that he'd at least be able to provide us with some serious security. Which was good, because we'd be traveling through a vast border area largely controlled by the Taliban.When we pulled up at the meeting point I saw another of those roofless Humvees waiting for us. The front two seats were already taken, and as we loaded our bags into the back, three men appeared, wearing a few pieces of uniform, but with all kinds of additions that made them look more like circus performers than the fighters I had expected. One had a haircut exactly like the Monkees: a perfect, shiny bowl. He was wearing a brown leather flying jacket and a bright yellow scarf. Another had emptied several bags of Cheetohs into his pockets, which spilled out whenever he moved. He would scoop out handfuls at a time and offer them to me.