Reuters Pictures
U.S. Staff Sergeant Jason Thompson goes through drills with new recruits for the Afghan National Army at the Kabul Military training Centre September 29, 2009. At the centre, recruits go through exercises as part of U.S. efforts to put the Afghan army on its own feet in hopes that, one day, Western troops could leave Afghanistan. Once a Soviet military base, the facility is now at the heart of plans by General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. and NATO military chief in Afghanistan, to create a strong enough Afghan fighting force capable of defending its country from the Taliban. Picture taken September 29, 2009.
