ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS Staff Sgt. Brandon Griffis (right) of Pendleton, Ind., whiled away the time earlier this year inside the Pir Mohammed school in Kandahar province. The school was turned into a de facto military base, which upset village elders.
Afghan soldiers were left in charge of protecting the Pir Mohammed school. Instead of the peace that the elders promised, the school sustained grenade and rocket assaults, one of which killed a 7-year-old boy playing outside.
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, left, speaks at a press conferece after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, right, spoke to students at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Conn., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010. Vick urged high school students in Connecticut to show kindness toward animals, adding to the string of appearances he's made since returning from a dogfighting conviction to become one of the NFL's most exciting players. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
ASSOCIATED PRESS South Korean Ahyeon Middle School students take shelter at a subway station in Seoul on Wednesday during a simulated attack by North Korea. Their signs read, "A shelter for the 5th class of 3rd grade."
Muslim pilgrims leaving the Grand Mosque after a prayer, during the annual Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010. The U.S. government sued a suburban Chicago school district on Monday, Dec. 13, 2010, for denying a Muslim teacher leave to go on the pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
President Obama is congratulated by third-grader Luis Avilar-Turcios, 8, after signing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in the District. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut Democrat (left), and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat (second from left), also attended. (Associated Press)
Elite gendarme officers release children from a school, after an hostage taking in Besancon, eastern France, Monday Dec.13, 2010. Gendarmes entered the pre-school where a 17-year-old armed with swords was holding several small children and their teacher hostage in eastern France. A city official says police have detained the 17-year-old, and that all the children have been released safely. (AP Photo)
Elite police take position at a school during an hostage taking in Besancon, eastern France, Monday Dec.13, 2010. Gendarmes entered the pre-school where a 17-year-old armed with swords was holding several small children and their teacher hostage in eastern France. A city official says police have detained the 17-year-old, and that all the children have been released safely. (AP Photo)
An elite police climbs into a school during an hostage taking in Besancon, eastern France, Monday Dec.13, 2010. Gendarmes entered the pre-school where a 17-year-old armed with swords was holding several small children and their teacher hostage in eastern France. A city official says police have detained the 17-year-old, and that all the children have been released safely.(AP Photo)
