An Afghan youth rides past election posters of parliamentarian candidates in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban vowed to attack polling places in Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, warning Afghans not to participate in what it called a sham vote. (Associated Press)
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 Photo/ Todd Pitman)
Arrested Taliban suspects and confiscated arms and ammunition are shown to the media at a police compound in Ghazni, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Rahmatullah Naikzad)
American soldiers of the 2-502 Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, participate in a memorial service for an Afghan Army officer from a partner unit who was killed in an insurgent ambush a day earlier, at Forward Operating Base Howz-e-Madad, in Zhari district, Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, Friday Aug. 27, 2010. American soldiers, and their Afghan partners in Zhari, operate in a district which as the birthplace of the Taliban movement holds many well-armed insurgents who blend in with an organized support network providing explosives and safe haven. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
U.S. Army Spc. David Zink, of Leavenworth, Kan., of Tactical Command Post, HQ Company, 2-502 Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, walks with platoon-mates during a joint patrol with the Afghan Army, in Zhari district, Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, Wednesday Aug. 25, 2010. Soldiers in Zhari operate in a district which is the birthplace of the Taliban movement, and holds many well-armed insurgents who blend in with a support network providing them with explosives and safe havens. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Islamist insurgent fighters take positions during clashes with Somali government soldiers and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu's Hodon neighborhood. The way Somali rebels fight and intimidate people purposely mimics some of the tactics used by the Taliban in Afghanistan. (Associated Press)
A U.S. soldier from the 101st Airborne Division reads as a sandstorm blows around him at Forward Operating Base Howz-e-Madad in southern Afghanistan's Zhari district on Tuesday. U.S. and Afghan troops plan an assault there, the birthplace of the Taliban, next month. (Associated Press)
Afghans pass on a road in front of the Howz-e-Madad base. "Taliban is the home team here," says a U.S. commander. The area has many well-armed fighters and a deep support network for the Taliban. (Associated Press)
An Afghan soldier stands guard over arrested Taliban suspects and confiscated arms and ammunition at a police compound in Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, Aug. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Reza Shirmohammadi)
