MAJLIS HARI RAYA BERSAMA RAKAN RAKAN RADIO DI RUMAH 9W2MPB

AFGHANNISTAN ,SEPTEMBER 2011

Private Chad Payton, 21, of Louisville, Ky., prepares to load a 120mm high-explosive mortar round in support of an Afghan outpost under attack by insurgents on Sept. 14 in Kunar province.

Tribal elders say the Taliban are far from defeated. The Taliban continue to wage a brutal war, taking a toll on Afghan citizens and American forces. The Department of Defense has identified 1,761 American service members who have died in the Afghan war and related operations as of Sept. 21, about 10 years since the start of the war. In visiting Afghanistan monthly in The Big Picture, we try to reflect our troops presence in the country as well as their interaction with the Afghan people.



The United States, which had largely pulled out of Kunar province, has recently moved troops, including the 27th Infantry Regiment, back in as part of an effort to take the battle to Taliban strongholds. The mountainous region of Kunar borders Pakistan and is often a transit point for Taliban between the countries.
US soldiers from the 27th Infantry Regiment fire 120-mm mortar rounds toward insurgent positions at Outpost Monti in Kunar province on Sept. 17. After a decade of fighting in Afghanistan, 130,000 troops from dozens of countries continue to battle resilient Taliban, who use homemade bombs and guerrilla tactics in a bid to undermine the Afghan government and the NATO mission.

Specialist Gart Kamon, of the 27th Infantry Regiment, is peppered with stones after firing mortar rounds at Outpost Monti in Kunar province.

A muddied Gart Kamon, an Army specialist, is part of the coalition effort to help Afghan troops take control of restive Kunar province.

A US soldier from the 2-27 Infantry's "Wolfhounds" takes cover during a firefight with the Taliban at Outpost Bari Alai in Ghaziabad district in Kunar on Sept. 15.

Lieutenant Steve Grizley of the 2-27 Infantry "Wolfhounds" takes care of some grooming during a lull at Outpost Bari Alai in Ghaziabad district in Kunar.

A US soldier observes a bombing strike from a US fighter jet during a firefight at Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar on Sept. 15.

US soldiers fire 60mm mortar rounds toward a Taliban position during a firefight at Outpost Bari Alai, in Kunar. ign:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsKJz1jDQev6MrSVpEQnBL_ylaT6ejJumxq2p7FiBTODM8DZosBX2h6vYnJxN1KWI5jY2OgOMpTv2tRZ_bmWNbUWaGk2jDstKwNwxVIpnNxwtl8ruBG5DfpxP9yqZiiwZ9PoFnZE6PM-m/s320/bp10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655924510215215170" />
A US fighter jet drops bombs at Taliban positions during a firefight at Outpost Bari Alai.

A convoy passed a village, as viewed from a bunker at Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar.

A soldier from Task Force "No Fear" of the 2-27 Infantry brushes his teeth between machine guns at his post in the bunker of Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar.

Soldiers with the 27th Infantry Regiment fire a 120mm mortar round from Combat Outpost Monti in Kunar province.

The rotors of a landing Blackhawk helicopter kick up dust and debris around Second Lieutenant Andrew Ferrara at the Shigal district center in Kunar province on Sept. 15. Ferrara is helping coordinate a meeting with village leaders.

A truck carries villagers near Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar.

Afghan medics take fingerprints from one of the Taliban militants killed during a gun battle with Afghan and NATO forces in Kabul on Sept. 14.

Afghan security men and media members gather around the body of a militant at a building in Kabul on Sept. 14. The brazen 20-hour attack demonstrated the ability of the Taliban to strike terror in the heart of the capital.

Sergeant Matt Murray, 25, of Warwick, R.I., greets Second Lieutenant Andrew Ferrara while hiking up to an observation post on Sept. 12 at Combat Outpost Monti in Kunar province.

US soldiers walk toward the Kuschamond forward base in Paktika province. So far, the 10-year war has cost America $444 billion. There are currently approximately 130,000 NATO-led forces in Afghanistan; 100,000 of them from the United States.

Afghan war amputees and children practice walking at the International Committee of the Red Cross orthopedic center on Sept. 10 in Kabul. After more than 30 years of war and a decade since the 9/11 attacks in the United States, thousands of Afghans, both military and civilian, continue to pay a heavy price from the conflicts. The center makes prosthetics for amputees and helps them, as well as Afghans with spinal injuries and children with congenital birth defects, to learn to walk.

An orthopedic technician adjusts a prosthetic leg for a war amputee at an International Committee of the Red Cross center in Kabul.

Afghan women listen to a trainer during an animal husbandry class on Sept. 8 in Kabul. The program, run by the Afghan Women Rights Organization, is aimed at educating women on ways to raise their household income. The program is funded by the US Ambassador's Small Grants Program and USAID.

An Afghan woman milks a cow during an animal husbandry class, September 8, 2011 in Kabul.

An Afghan vollunteer weighs a child at a USAID-funded health help center, September 7, 2011 in Farza, Afghanistan. More than $2 billion of American development money will be spent in Afghanistan in 2011. The goal is to provide basic health services for Afghans throughout the nation and to lower Afghanistan's child and maternal mortality rate, among the highest in the world.

Female would-be Afghan lawmakers attend a protest in front of the Afghan Presidential palace in Kabul, September 7, 2011. Hundreds of supporters of would-be Afghan lawmakers, declared winners by a court but losers by an election body, blocked a main junction in downtown Kabul, the latest scene in a long-running political crisis.

Supplies for US Army troops overlook the Hindu Kush mountains at Observation Post Mustang in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. The area, in northeastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border, is a major infiltration route by Taliban fighters coming across from Pakistan and has seen some of the heaviest fighting of the war.

US Army soldiers from the 2-27th Infantry Regiment work out at Observation Post Mustang.

A STEP -BY-STEP GUIDE TO CELEBRATING

A girl waves national flags as she participates in a parade during the double celebrations of Malaysia Day and Independence Day in Kuala Lumpur Sept. 16. Malaysia celebrated the 48th anniversary of the union of Malaysia as well as the 54 years of the country's independence.

All it takes are two groups of people, one to gather and one to march past them. Parades took place across the globe these past two months for a variety of celebrations, from shows of military power, to tributes to organized labor, to pride for one’s country or culture.

A Malaysian woman performs during the Malaysia Day and Independence Day parade in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16. Malaysia is celebrating its 54th independence day with the theme "1 Malaysia transformation, success, people peace".

Malaysians stand in line during a parade rehearsal for the Malaysia Day celebrations at Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Sept. 14. The country celebrates the holiday on Sept. 16, to commemorate the formation of the Malaysia federation which was announced on the same date in 1963.

Performers dance in the street parade at the annual Notting Hill Carnival in central London Aug. 29.. Revelers flocked to west London for one of Europe's biggest street parties, with record numbers of police on duty to prevent a repetition of riots that shook the British capital three weeks ago. Notting Hill Carnival, an annual celebration of Caribbean culture that usually draws about 1 million people for a colorful procession of musicians and performers.

Manash Sharma (left) waves to performers during the 31st India Day Parade on Aug. 21 in New York.

Dancers perform the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance on Sept. 12 in Abbots Bromley, United Kingdom. The dance comprising of six Deer-men, a Fool, Hobby Horse, Bowman and Maid Marian start in the early morning at the village church. A melodian player accompanies the dancers as they parade around the parish holding Reindeer antlers above their heads. The traditional Wakes Monday dance is believed to be the oldest folk dance in Britain and some of the antlers have been carbon dated to be over 1000 years old.

Soldiers march in the military parade during the Independence Day celebrations in Mexico City Sept. 16. Mexico celebrated the 201st anniversary of its 1810 independence uprising.


Military cadets parade commemorating the 190th anniversary of Independence on Sept. 15 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

A solider stands at attention as Evzones presidential guards parade outside the Greek parliament in central Athens, Greece, on Sept. 13

Volunteers and attendees parade around the field in front of nearly 3000 flags during a Sept. 11th commemoration ceremony at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. The flags represent the people who died at the World Trade Center.


Indonesian Muslim children carry torches during a parade celebrating Eid al Fitr holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia Aug. 30.

Libyan National Transitional Council fighters parade in Tripoli on Sept. 9 as diplomats said that the UN Security Council could pass a resolution next week easing an asset freeze and arms embargo against Libya to help launch a UN mission in the country.

Namibia fans parade their colors prior to kickoff during the 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool D match between Fiji and Namibia at the Rotorua International Stadium on Sept.10 in Rotorua, New Zealand.

Vessels sail during a great parade of the Culture Tall Ships Regatta on the Bay of Gdansk near the eastern Polish Baltic Sea city of Gdynia Sept. 5. The Culture 2011 Tall Ships Regatta featured two races from Klaipeda to Turku to Gdynia as part of the Tall Ships festival season, during which participating cities showcased their cultural activities, according to organizers.

The North Korean military parades to celebrate the 63rd founding anniversary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Pyongyang on Sept. 9. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and his son reviewed the parade of military hardware and thousands of goose-stepping troops, in what analysts saw as a bid to bolster loyalty to the regime.

The Group Aero Squadron (Esquadrilha da fumaca) flies in formation during a civic-military parade in commemoration of 189 years of Brazilian independence, in Brasilia Sept. 7.

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff waves from a vehicle during a civic-military parade commemorating 189 years of Brazilian independence in Brasilia Sept.7.

Union members, along with their relatives, walk in the annual Labor Day parade in Detroit, MI Sept. 5.

A marcher fakes death from a mock battle on Peachtree Street between medieval characters during the Dragoncon parade on Sept. 3 in Atlanta. Dragoncon is a multimedia convention held annually over Labor Day weekend that draws tens of thousands of comic book, fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music film and science-fiction fans.

Turkish veterans carry Turkish flags during a parade marking the 89th anniversary of Victory Day in Ankara Aug. 30

Boston Bruins Brad Marchand lifts the Stanley Cup for the crowd at the conclusion of a parade on Aug. 29 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A girl sits in a decorated vehicle during a parade ahead of the country's 190th anniversary of independence at the Joaquin Robles elementary school in Los Encuentros, Solola, 130 km (112 miles) from Guatemala City Sept. 14. The country celebrates its independence on September 15.

Star Wars Storm Troopers match in the Dragoncon parade on Sept. 3 in Atlanta. Dragoncon is a multimedia convention held annually over Labor Day weekend that draws tens of thousands of comic book, fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music film and science-fiction fans.