In this photo taken Friday, June 19, 2009, U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines descend from an observation post near Now Zad in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Three years after its residents fled, the once bustling town of Now Zad is the scene of a stalemate between U.S. Marines and Taliban insurgents and an example of the challenges facing the U.S. administration even as it sends 21,000 extra Marines and soldiers to the south to try and turn around a bogged down, 8-year-long war. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)