A Marine with Fox Company sits in the dust and mud of the flooded entrance to Patrol Base Barcha in the Helmand River valley in southern Afghanistan. Rising water in the surrounding fields has forced the Marines to fill in the area with gravel and sandbags. The sweltering summer temperatures have dropped, bringing a new set of problems as winter approaches. In Washington, debate is under way on how the U.S. should proceed in Afghanistan — and how to pay for it. (NPR)
