U.S. Army Sgt. David Williams patrols along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with a view of the Goraparay Valley in the distance behind him.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
U.S. soldiers walk past the Pakistani Frontier Corps' border post at Karir Pass after a mission along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Karir Pass has been the site of the most Taliban rocket launches.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Major Jason Dempsey, the No. 3 officer in the U.S. battalion on the border, rides a Chinook out to Kunar Valley, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, as troops set out to locate sites that insurgents use as launching points to fire rockets at U.S. bases in the valley. The arrival of 800 troops from the Army's 10th Mountain Division in February marked the first large-scale U.S. presence on the border since the invasion in late 2001.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
A U.S Marine, left, and U.S. Army soldier, right, chat at the edge of a mountaintop as a helicopter flies by. Throughout their mission, U.S. troops have struggled to overcome decades of enmity between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Major Jason Dempsey relaxes under a make-shift awning on a scorching-hot day near the ridge bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan. U.S. officials said Pakistanis have been angry that the Afghans are building a new fort on the ridge line between the two countries. Pakistan has long suspected that Afghanistan wants to grab tribal lands on its side of the border.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Walking a short distance from the Pakistan camp at Karir Pass, U.S. Marines carry glass mugs and a container of tea to drink along on a mountaintop near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. To break through the suspicion between Pakistanis and Afghans, troops planned to hold a series of meetings with their Pakistani counterparts. However, they quickly realized that the rugged terrain, poor Afghan roads and a shortage of U.S. helicopters made frequent visits impossible.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Seated on the side of a steep cliff, a Pakistani soldier, left, shows photos of his family to Army Captain Michael Harrison, right. The terrified Pakistani Frontier Corps soldiers have essentially been prisoners in their own posts, flown via helicopter to their border forts made out of rocks.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
On radio guard, Spc. Jeffrey Sutherland, 21, of Greenville, Ohio, checks in with his team. Every few weeks, a team of U.S. and Afghan soldiers fly up to the border area to kick over the Taliban rocket-launch sites and blow up Taliban safe houses, used to store weapons and food.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
U.S. Army Spc. Adam Rowe, 29, of Philadelphia, reads a few pages of "The Westies" while on radio watch. U.S. commanders have been able to slow the flow of Taliban fighters across the 90-mile stretch of border by winning over Afghans who live in the Konar River valley, which the insurgents must traverse as they move deeper into Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
As morning breaks, U.S. Army Pathfinders prepare to leave their mountaintop camp where they spent the night. To stop the influx of Taliban fighters into Afghanistan entirely, U.S. officials said, they must have the support of the deeply suspicious Pakistani forces, as well as Afghans in the Konar River valley.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
At first light, Sgt. James Weser, left, and Captain Serg Glushenko, right, pack up to meet their helicopter following their mission along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
Photo Editors Megan Rossman, Chris Dunn
Producer Chris Dunn
Text Editor Amanda Lilly
