In the summer of 2008, photographer Pieter-Jan De Pue sent us an email asking if he could give Vice’s contact information to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in the hope of securing an assignment to be embedded with American troops there. He had been to Afghanistan the year before, but since that trip didn’t end so well (after getting lost in the mountains, he was imprisoned, first by the Chinese Army on suspicion of being an American Air Force spy and later by tribal militia on suspicion of being al-Qaida), he was looking for a more secure way to travel the country and shoot his stories. Going on a trip with a group of guys who are part of the best-trained army in the world seemed like the safest option. He was granted access and embedded with an American unit working alongside the Afghan National Army (ANA). Two days into his assignment, the platoon was ambushed. The lieutenant was killed and four other soldiers were either injured or went nuts and had to be sent home. Lesson: It’s never safe in Afghanistan.
