Bob Corker
Timothy Garland

Staff Photo by Matt Fields-Johnson
Sgt. 1st Class Joe Raburn with the 489th Civil Affairs Battalion out of Knoxville is a veteran of conflicts in Iraq and Afganistan giving him perspective on the differences between the two wars as well as an idea of where they are headed.

The mountains of North Georgia and Tennessee so familiar to Spc. Timothy Garland are hardly foothills compared to the inhospitable mountain ranges he now patrols in Afghanistan.

"The switchbacks are just unbelievable," said the 34-year-old Calhoun, Ga., resident, who has been in Afghanistan since April with the Georgia Army National Guard. "The curves in the hills are just as sharp, and it's really difficult to navigate through terrain. I can hardly see over the hood."

The Central Asian country's harsh, mountainous undeveloped geography -- a stark contrast to the flat deserts and roads of Iraq -- is one of the most visible challenges that troops confront as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Eight years after the United States invaded Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaida training camps and unseat the terrorist-supporting Taliban government following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, more than 848 Americans have died there.

Waning public support for the war -- prompted in part by a rising casualty count for American soldiers -- an uncertain mission and savvy enemy fighters also contribute to the uphill climb for soldiers on the ground.

"The mission ought to be how are we going to defeat al-Qaida and how are we going to source the mission so that we can defeat al-Qaida operatives until they are no longer a threat to our nation?" said retired U.S. Army Gen. B.B. Bell, a Chattanooga resident who oversaw training for all NATO and U.S. ground forces deploying from Europe to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005.

Any mission, however, must deal with the realities of Afghanistan, a situation almost entirely different from what troops faced in Iraq.

Partly due to history, partly to tribal territoriality and partly to terrain, Afghans are spread out in pockets of hundreds or thousands in small villages, very remote and cut off from one another.

So instead of patrolling cities in tanks or armored Humvees like soldiers in Iraq, troops in Afghanistan must lug more than 80 pounds of gear thousands of feet up along steep, rocky mountain trails. The trails are narrow and sharply curved, so soldiers never know who may be around the next turn, leaving them vulnerable to different types of complex attacks and ambushes than they faced in Iraq's urban combat settings, according to soldiers.

Spc. Garland, a member of the Calhoun, Ga.-based Georgia Army National Guard's 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, said enemy insurgents in Afghanistan also fight differently from the enemy in Iraq.

"So far, these guys are not runners," he said. "To me, they seem braver than the Iraqis and seem more willing to fight."

Lt. Col. Randall Simmons, commander of Spc. Garland's unit, called it a game of action, reaction and counteraction.

"The insurgency here is an ever-adapting insurgency. It's a vicious cycle," said Lt. Col. Simmons, who commands more than 450 soldiers covering an area the size and shape of Tennessee that lies east to west around Kabul, the capital.

The squadron is part of more than 2,500 soldiers of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Losses rising

More attention -- and more troops -- being aimed at Afghanistan means more casualties, a frustrating and confusing situation for Americans who thought the country was already well in hand.

American losses in Afghanistan this year already are higher than any other annual total in the eight-year war. So far this year 215 casualties were reported in the country, compared to the previous high of 153 for all of 2008, according to icasualties.org, an independent military casualty tracking Web site.

August was the highest month for U.S. casualties with 51. So far this month 35 casualties have been reported.

Since June, at least five military members from Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia have died while serving in Afghanistan.

To date in Iraq 4,346 U.S. casualties have been reported.

American troop levels in Afghanistan hover at 62,000, double the number of forces in the country the same time last year. That number should reach 68,000 by the end of the year.

In a March 27 speech, President Barack Obama signaled a renewed commitment to Afghanistan, and he has approved a 17,000-troop increase by the end of the year.

And with each lost life, Americans at home are growing more impatient. The Taliban, once routed into the mountains bordering Pakistan, now is stronger and growing. Both supporters and critics of America's presence there acknowledge a new strategy is needed.

Some, such as Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new commander of U.S. forces in the country, see opportunity for success in Afghanistan. Others, pointing to a history of Afghan revolt against foreigners in their lands -- including a defeat of the Soviet Union in the 1980s -- say the escalating casualties the United States has seen in recent months will only continue and a decisive victory is elusive.

War critics say the fight in Afghanistan isn't worth the sacrifice of troops, time and money.

"We can't deal with matters of the long grind it takes to resolve a civil war," said Dr. Larry Ingle, a retired history professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Fighting insurgents in Afghanistan will not prevent terrorists from reaching the United States, he said.

"Terror is a tactic that anybody who feels him or herself on the losing end is going to use," he said. "Yes, terrorism is going to go on regardless of the outcome in Afghanistan."

But Gen. Bell argues that leaving without building some security would be "immoral."

"If we were to pick up and leave tomorrow many thousands of (Afghans) would be slaughtered quickly," he said.

The mission

Gen. Bell worries that, for all of the debate on fighting the Taliban and troop levels, one crucial element isn't being discussed -- the mission.

The military didn't have enough troops to accomplish the original mission of killing and capturing al-Qaida operatives in Afghanistan in 2001, he said. Osama bin Laden escaped, likely into Pakistan, along with other al-Qaida and Taliban forces, who regrouped and over time regained territories, he said.

"Here we are in 2009, eight years later, and the question before the national leadership is how to source the military to defeat the Taliban," the general said. "Sitting here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that's a bit bizarre to me."

Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., calls efforts in Afghanistan "true nation building" that may require a 10-year commitment. But he, too, said the ultimate objective has been fuzzy and never clearly stated.

"One of the things that has happened is there's never been a clear articulation of what victory, what success means," said Sen. Corker, a former mayor of Chattanooga.

The war has not received enough troops, money or equipment throughout, he said, stopping short of saying what resource commitment would be adequate.

The senator said the next step should be a series of both closed-door and open committee meetings between Gen. McChrystal and other leaders with Congress, similar to the 2007 sessions held with U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus leading to the troop surge in Iraq.

Gen. Bell said the U.S. mission should not be to "nation build" in Afghanistan.

"We can't do that," he said. "It's too hard."

ON THE GROUND

The increased violence in Afghanistan is the result of the United States shifting more resources to the country, according to Col. Mike Pyott, an Afghan war veteran and North Georgia College and State University professor of military science.

"The Taliban are making a last stand there," said Col. Pyott, who commanded part of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 then worked on Afghanistan in the Pentagon from 2003 to 2005.

Just as U.S. forces adapted to changing conditions in Iraq, so did the insurgency.

"I believe they were watching us while we were in Iraq," he said.

Bob Swansbrough, a political science professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and author of "Test by Fire: The War Presidency of George W. Bush," said a lack of U.S. attention allowed Taliban forces to regain areas in Afghanistan, which has led to the current situation.

President Obama's re-ordering of the mission, focusing on a stable Afghan central government, destroying al-Qaida and securing Afghanistan from becoming a base for terror operations, is more pragmatic, he said.

"What we're faced with is will this increasing troops indeed bring about a desired state of affairs?" Dr. Swansbrough said.

As to whether the war is winnable, the professor said, "I can't tell. I don't think anyone can tell at this point."

But he cautioned that inaction won't solve any of America's problems in the region.

"We cannot simply ignore Afghanistan; we paid that price once," Dr. Swansbrough said.

MovING forward

Despite difficulties, some soldiers see some positive signs working with the Afghans.

Sgt. 1st Class Joe Raburn, 55, of LaFayette, Ga., who worked with the Knoxville-based U.S. Army Reserve 489th Civil Affairs Battalion in both Afghanistan and Iraq, recalled differences in how Afghan and Iraqis viewed some service projects.

"When we dug a well in Afghanistan, the people would use the water to irrigate their fields," he said. Those wells and similar projects became points of pride for the Afghans, who thanked him for the soldiers' efforts, he recalled.

But when he and his soldiers dug a well in Iraq, the Iraqis "expected you to bring them a glass of water to their front door."

Lt. Col. Simmons noted that the Afghan army and security forces he works with are taking the lead on patrols and raids.

"Basically we give them a little guidance here and there, provide a little extra firepower if things go bad," he said.

That partnership is crucial to building support and trust among Afghan people, according to a recent report by Gen. McChrystal.

"We face not only a resilient and growing insurgency; there is also a crisis of confidence among Afghans -- in both their government and the international community -- that undermines our credibility and emboldens the insurgency," he wrote.

Sgt. 1st Class Raburn worries that the American people and politicians are losing sight of the conflict's origins.

"This is my real concern. It seems a lot of Americans and elected officials have forgotten Sept. 11th," the sergeant said.