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[I]n Afghanistan's rural districts like Baraki Barak, where Taliban rules don't differ that much from existing conservative customs, the calculation is different, particularly in the mostly Pashtun southern and eastern provinces. To villagers here, the collapse of the Afghan republic and the U.S. withdrawal mean, above all, that the guns have fallen silent for the first time in two decades.

"There was war here day and night, every day. It never ceased. The land wasn't ours, the fields weren't ours, the house wasn't ours, we didn't even have honor," said village elder Daud Shah Khan, as he stood by the remains of the wrecked shrine. "Now, there is peace. And when someone doesn't feel danger, doesn't fear war, and can walk with a peace of mind, he is happy even if he is hungry," he said.

Sixteen members of his family, Mr. Khan added, were killed during the war: three nieces, three nephews and 10 cousins. "Their graves are over there," he said, pointing at the cemetery in the dusty field, where faded white and green flags fluttered above small gravestones.

While Kabul was hit by occasional suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks during the 20-year American presence, life in the Afghan capital remained relatively normal throughout that time, with busy streets, restaurants open late into the night and bustling markets.

Districts like Baraki Barak, by contrast, were the site of constant skirmishes between the Taliban, Afghan government forces and, until last year, American troops. Strategically located on the southern approaches to Kabul, Baraki Barak used to house one of the largest U.S. bases in Afghanistan, Forward Operating Base Shank, that at one time endured more frequent rocket attacks than any other U.S. outpost. [...]

One of the men detained in the raid was Qandagha Momand, a 35-year-old shopkeeper. Three days into his detention in Kabul, he suddenly noticed his prison guards ditching their uniforms to don traditional Afghan clothes.

"They dressed like us, left their jobs, and freed us," Mr. Momand said. He returned to his home in Baraki Barak to find that three of the family's cows had been killed in the raid.

"In the past, we couldn't go outside after 5 or 6 p.m., we were afraid. We didn't know who were our enemies and who were our friends," he said. "Now, we have freedom. The democracy has ended."

As in many Afghan villages, some of Mr. Momand's neighbors have served in the Afghan army and police, while others joined the Taliban. The Taliban have proclaimed an amnesty, and some of these former soldiers have been back to their homes after Aug. 15. "We're Muslims, humans and Afghans, our hearts are wide enough," said Mr. Khan, the village elder. "We forgive them all."

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