It's a 6-mile wide, isolated mountainous region of caves and canyons with lushly forested areas of trees and little agricultural land. No, I am not talking about Death Valley in California but, rather, the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. In the documentary, "Restrepo," Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, take us inside the battle of the Korengal Valley by spending an entire year with a platoon of American Soldiers there.
Nicknamed the "Valley of Death" by American Soldiers, the Korengal Valley has been a key battleground in the War in Afghanistan. It's rugged terrain makes for the perfect insurgent hideout.
The U.S. went into Afghanistan in 2001, however we did not enter the Korengal Valley until 2006. From the time we went into the Korengal, until the time we pulled our troops out in 2009, we lost Forty-two American service men, many Afghan soldiers and hundreds were also wounded there.
It's hard to look at the war in Afghanistan from a non-partisan view. Everyone has their own opinions about whether we should be there or not and each party, Republican and Democrat, have their pros and cons about whether we should stay. But, when it all comes down to it- these are American soldiers over there at the end of the day and they are fighting for our freedoms here in the states. That is why I like Restrepo so much. Because they capture what is truly going on in Afghanistan; in the Korengal in particular, and they aren't worried about stressing either side of the argument of whether we should be there or not.
Regardless of what your opinion is about the war going on, remember to thank our troops for serving us and keep them in your prayers!
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