Front Towards Enemy

The administration plans to shift 17,000 troops to Afghanistan and leave 35 - 50,ooo troops in Iraq? Louie Palu just won third place in the Picture Story/Feature category of the just-announced White House News Photographers Association awards. As the caption reads: These U.S. Marines operated in Garmsir, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, where some of the most intense fighting of the year took place. This unit was supposed to be a one-time, short-term special deployment of troops ordered to Afghanistan, by President George W. Bush in 2007, but became the beginning of an escalation of U.S. troops being deployed to the war in 2008. The "front towards enemy" suggests that, at a certain point, there is hardly any will left, thus the instruction: just point me in the right direction.    See Palu's series beginning here.

(image: Louie Palu/ZUMA Press for TIME)