Since 2001, international groups that worked in those areas have moved out. The Taliban has barred foreign agencies from coming in, The New York Times said.

"The Taliban has made it abundantly clear that no outside doctors, no outside medical help, can work in this district," Capt. Christopher DeMure of the 508th Parachute Infantry's 2nd Battalion said.

The U.S. military hopes to bring security, medical care and education to the region, fighting the Taliban by giving the people a better life.

DeMure's unit and others reaching villages in the region along the border with Pakistan encounter long lines of families bringing children suffering from spider bites and infections. Pfc. Corey R. Ball, a medic with DeMure, said that he saw children suffering from retardation, deafness and epilepsy, problems beyond his skill.

"We are medics," he said. "They want us to be miracle workers."