AFGHANISTAN-US-UNREST-MARINES-ANNIVERSARY-OPERATION GERMINATE

A US Marine dog handler from Fox Company 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines rests on his dog "Patrick" as his Platoon settles into a makeshift patrol base during the launch of Operation Germinate into the restive Bhuji Bhast Pass in Farah Province, southern Afghanistan, on October 7, 2009. The Bhuji Bhast Pass is effectively a Taliban corridor, mined with IED?s from one end to the other, and lined with villages that are hostile to the Western troop presence. Aboard Marine CH-53 helicopters Fox Company inserted into the pass on the 8th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to clear insurgent forces from local villages and improve security for the local Afghan population. AFP PHOTO/DAVID FURST