Afghanistan Wartime Architecture September 2010
Part 1
 

US army soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division Alpha Battery 1-320th leave patrol base Lugo on the outskirts of the village of Jellawar in the Arghandab Valley on September 7, 2010. Western powers must change strategy in Afghanistan, focusing on Al-Qaeda militants and cutting troop numbers instead of pursuing failed attempts at nation-building, a top think-tank said September 7,2010. Urging a major rethink of President Barack Obama's surge policy, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said the international community was 'pinned down' as the war entered its tenth year. Obama has recently appeared to step back from a pledge that US forces would begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in July 2011. He has already deployed 30,000 extra troops as part of Washington's new counter-insurgency strategy. Getty

A Afghan National Army soldier mans his position near patrol base Lugo manned by 101st Airborne Division Alpha Battery 1-320th on the outskirts of the village of Jellawar in the Arghandab Valley on September 7, 2010. Western powers must change strategy in Afghanistan, focusing on Al-Qaeda militants and cutting troop numbers instead of pursuing failed attempts at nation-building, a top think-tank said September 7,2010. Urging a major rethink of President Barack Obama's surge policy, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said the international community was 'pinned down' as the war entered its tenth year. Obama has recently appeared to step back from a pledge that US forces would begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in July 2011. He has already deployed 30,000 extra troops as part of Washington's new counter-insurgency strategy. Getty

A burqa-clad Afghan woman begs near the historical towers Manarha, in Herat, western Afghanistan September 7, 2010. Taliban threats, shuttered polling centres and warnings of widespread fraud are clouding hopes for Afghanistan's Sept. 18 parliamentary election, a key test of an already fragile democracy, observers have warned. Reuters

A man walks up a hilly road in Kabul September 7, 2010. Afghanistan will hold parliamentary elections on September 18. Reuters

Fsarzneh Mansoori, an Afghan parliamentary candidate, speaks with worshipers at a mosque during her campaign in Herat, western Afghanistan September 7, 2010. Taliban threats, shuttered polling centres and warnings of widespread fraud are clouding hopes for Afghanistan's Sept. 18 parliamentary election, a key test of an already fragile democracy, observers have warned. Reuters

A member of the Afghan Border Police combs his hair while on a guard post of a remote U.S. military Combat Outpost Taghaz in Helmand, Afghanistan, September 7, 2010. The Afghan Border Police is working with the U.S. marines' 1st Light Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion to secure a remote area in southwestern Helmand. Reuters

An Afghan man looks at candidates' parliamentary election campaign billboards in Kabul on September 7, 2010. Afghanistan prepares for its next test as an infant democracy, a crop of bright young men and women are challenging the traditional Afghan belief that power lies in beards and turbans. The country's second parliamentary poll is scheduled for September 18, with about 2,500 candidates contesting the 249 seats in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament. Getty

A view of Herat's old city with election posters pasted on walls, in western Afghanistan September 7, 2010. Taliban threats, shuttered polling centres and warnings of widespread fraud are clouding hopes for Afghanistan's Sept. 18 parliamentary election, a key test of an already fragile democracy, observers have warned. Reuters

Sgt. Charles Reed, from Steam Boat, Colo. , of the 715 Military Intelligence Unit, center, celebrates his 34th birthday with his colleagues and the staff at TGI Fridays restaurant on the boardwalk at Kandahar Air Force Base, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 6, 2010. AP

From right, Marty Fletcher, a civilian contractor from Port St. John, Fla. , Wes Balmer, from Fayetteville, N.C. , Chief Warrent Officer Jordan Yard, from California, Col. Pat Thauberger from Ottawa, Ontario, 1st Sgt. Jody Lucas, from Gainesville, Fla. , and Pfc. Lily Fay, from Belvidere, Ill. , take part in a jam session organized on the Kandahar boardwalk by the United Services Organizations (USO) at Kandahar Air Force Base, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 6, 2010. AP

A US army soldier with the 101st Airborne Division Alpha Battery 1-320th sleeps in a hammock at a patrol base named Stronghold Lugo on the outskirts of the village of Jellawar in The Arghandab Valley on September 6, 2010. NATO may send 2,000 extra troops to Afghanistan, mainly to train Afghan security forces, following a request from war commander David Petraeus, a NATO official said. The war is nearing the end of its ninth year, with international troops at almost full strength of 150,000, from the United States and NATO. Getty

US army soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division Alpha Battery 1-320th rest at a patrol base named Stronghold Lugo on the outskirts of the village of Jellawar in The Arghandab Valley on September 6, 2010. NATO may send 2,000 extra troops to Afghanistan, mainly to train Afghan security forces, following a request from war commander David Petraeus, a NATO official said. The war is nearing the end of its ninth year, with international troops at almost full strength of 150,000, from the United States and NATO. Getty

A security, or chase, helicopter banks heavily as it circles a small U.S. base, during the evacuation of an Afghan child by the U.S. Army's Task Force Shadow, in southern Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 6, 2010. Aeromedical teams with the 101st Airborne's Task Force Destiny provide the fast medical evacuation of those wounded throughout southern Afghanistan. AP

US army soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division Alpha Battery 1-320th play Risk at a patrol base named Stronghold Lugo on the outskirts of the village of Jellawar in The Arghandab Valley on September 6, 2010. NATO may send 2,000 extra troops to Afghanistan, mainly to train Afghan security forces, following a request from war commander David Petraeus, a NATO official said. The war is nearing the end of its ninth year, with international troops at almost full strength of 150,000, from the United States and NATO. Getty

Afghans walk outside Kabul Bank in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 6, 2010. The largest bank in the country remained solvent after a nearly weeklong run on the troubled institution, according to the central bank Governor Abdul Qadir Fitrat, which is being criticized for looking the other way at the bank's mismanagement problems for too long. AP

Election posters of parliamentarian candidates hang on utility poles in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010. The Taliban vowed Sunday to attack polling places in Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, warning Afghans not to participate in what it called a sham vote. AP

U.S. soldiers of the Fort Campbell based 1-75 Cavalry fire 122 mm mortars at a nearby Taliban position at Forward Operating Base Wilson in Kandahar Province, Southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010. AP

Following a U.S. Army Task Force Shadow helicopter rescue mission, army medical professionals wheel an Afghan man who was injured in an IED explosion into a Role 3 advanced medicine field hospital, at Forward Operating Base Dwyer, in southern Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010. The explosive, which also struck a boy in the face, was planted to kill or maim Marines and Afghan soldiers on foot, who responded and applied tourniquets to the man's upper thighs, and calling in the rescue unit from the 101st Airborne's TF Destiny. The man's legs were later amputated. Getty

A postal Marine officer (2nd L) inspects the luggage of U.S. Marines from Combat Logistics Regiment 15 before shipment to U.S. after finishing their six months tour of duty in Afghanistan at FOB Leatherneck in Helmand September 4, 2010. Reuters

An Afghan police officer kicks a piece of debris at the scene of a suicide attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010. At least three people were killed and 11 wounded in a suicide car bomb attack on a U.S. Army convoy in the insurgent hotbed of Kandahar, according to local hospitals. NATO said there were no injuries to coalition forces or damage to their vehicles. AP

A US Army Chaplain with the 101st Airborne Division Alpha Battery 1-320th (REAR) leads a Christian service at Combat Outpost Nolen in the village of Jellawar in The Arghandab Valley on September 4, 2010. US military commanders in Afghanistan are developing a strategy that would tolerate limited corruption but target large-scale abuses, The Washington Post reported late September 3. Citing unnamed senior defense officials, the newspaper said Pentagon officials had concluded that the Taliban insurgency was the most pressing threat to stability in Afghanistan rather than corruption. The United States has almost 93,000 troops in the country, who along with 48,000 NATO soldiers are battling a Taliban-led insurgency. Getty

US army soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division Alpha Battery 1-320th reinforce a bridge outside Combat Outpost Nolen in the village of Jellawar in The Arghandab Valley on September 4, 2010. US military commanders in Afghanistan are developing a strategy that would tolerate limited corruption but target large-scale abuses, The Washington Post reported late September 3. Citing unnamed senior defense officials, the newspaper said Pentagon officials had concluded that the Taliban insurgency was the most pressing threat to stability in Afghanistan rather than corruption. The United States has almost 93,000 troops in the country, who along with 48,000 NATO soldiers are battling a Taliban-led insurgency.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) greets a soldier from the Afghanistan National Army while visiting soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, at Combat Outpost Senjaray outside Kandahar, September 3, 2010. Reuters

Supporters of Afghan parliamentary election candidate Farkhunda Zahra Naderi (not pictured), daughter of religious Afghan Shia Ismaili Muslim leader Sayed Mansoor Naderi, look during a campaign rally in Kabul on September 3, 2010. Afghanistan, plagued by an increasingly deadly Taliban-led insurgency, is due to hold its second post-Taliban parliamentary elections on September 18 amid fears that attacks might disrupt the vote. Getty

A supporter of Afghan parliamentary election candidate Farkhunda Zahra Naderi holds plastic bags as she guards shoes of other supporters at a rally in Kabul September 3, 2010. Afghanistan will hold parliamentary elections on September 18. Reuters

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (C) and Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan U.S. General David Petraeus arrive at the Presidential Palace September 2, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Gates is in Afghanistan to meet with Petraeus and the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai. Getty

A view of the Arghandab Valley in Kandahar province is pictured from the air early on September 2, 2010. The number of international troops killed in Afghanistan so far in 2010 stands at 493, not far off the 2009 total of 521. The insurgency, which began soon after a US-led invasion ousted the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, is spreading across the country, though it remains fiercest in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. Getty

A view of the Arghandab Valley in Kandahar province is pictured from the air early on September 2, 2010. The number of international troops killed in Afghanistan so far in 2010 stands at 493, not far off the 2009 total of 521. The insurgency, which began soon after a US-led invasion ousted the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, is spreading across the country, though it remains fiercest in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. Getty