If you ask NPR reporter Tom Bowman about his career aspirations, he'd probably tell you he already has the best job possible: covering the Pentagon for NPR.
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When the Marines of "America's Battalion" first arrived in Afghanistan, they were eager to get into the fight against the Taliban. Now, as they wrap up their seven-month deployment — and after the loss of a dozen comrades — they see warfare in a different light.
Marines from "America's Battalion," the 2/8, are returning home this month from Afghanistan after a six-month deployment. But before they go, they are passing along vital knowledge of the enemy and the terrain of Helmand province to the Marines replacing them.
When a roadside bomb last week destroyed an American armored vehicle in southern Afghanistan, it was an all-too-familiar scene for the soldiers of 2nd Platoon — an explosion, a firefight, a Medevac helicopter and a prayer. The Army platoon, part of the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, has lost 11 soldiers, about one-third of the force.
President Obama says the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan, and also to prevent al-Qaida from having any safe havens in Afghanistan. To that end, there are 68,000 U.S. troops, more than one-third of them combat brigades, in Afghanistan. They are mostly along the border with Pakistan and in the south.
The U.S. is making progress in Afghanistan in places such as Helmand Province, but a shortage of troops may be hindering some of the work. There is also a long way to go in creating more Afghan soldiers and police, and ensuring the Afghan government provides services to the population.
The Marines in Afghanistan's Helmand province are pursuing a counterinsurgency strategy of "hold to build" — pushing out the Taliban and helping the Afghan government bring a sense of normalcy to villages in a region known as the "snake's head."
Roadside bombs now account for nearly three-quarters of the American deaths in Afghanistan. The Pentagon is sending more equipment to detect these hidden killers and setting up special centers to sift through intelligence information. But Marines on the ground say much of the battle is still in their hands.
The Marines of "America's Battalion" have been fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province since July. Now, as the Marines move south, looking to extend their area of operation, they are patrolling for the deadliest of threats: roadside bombs.
Eight American troops were killed Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, making October the deadliest month so far in the Afghan war. The deaths come a day after two helicopters crashed, killing more than a dozen Americans in the country.
A helicopter crash and a separate collision involving two other choppers killed 14 Americans today. It was one of the deadliest days for U.S. troops in the war in Afghanistan.
The U.S. military is says that 14 Americans have been killed in a series of helicopter crashes in Afghanistan. The two helicopter crashes Monday have made it one of the deadliest days in the war for U.S. troops.
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has made a public case for sending more American troops to fight there. Is Gen. Stanley McChrystal out of line? Should he be making his case through the chain of command? Or is it appropriate to have a debate with the White House in public?
As White House and Pentagon officials debate the way ahead in Afghanistan, they are looking to Vietnam as a model of what not to do. Lawmakers opposed to sending more troops to Afghanistan have found a perfect term to describe the conflict: quagmire.
An official assessment by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, concludes that after eight years, the U.S. and its allies have failed to focus on and win over the Afghan people. He also calls for more troops to ensure victory over the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says Gen. Stanley McChrystal's report on Afghanistan focuses more on strategy than it does on troop numbers. The Michigan Democrat has previously opposed sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, saying that the focus should, instead, be on training Afghan security forces.
