U.S. Marine Cpl. Steven Kelly tries to talk to an Afghan boy, during a patrol near Faqairan village, Afghanistan, in September.

AP / Brennan Linsley

For a few years, you’ve heard a lot about the war in Iraq. But recently, there has been a lot of news about fighting in Afghanistan. U.S. troops increasingly are being wounded or killed there, including eight in one attack recently. In the coming weeks, President Barack Obama is likely to decide whether he should send more American service members into the large, mountainous and politically complicated nation.

Margaret Webb Pressler and foreign correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran, who has spent time in Afghanistan, have answered some questions about the country and what is happening there.

Why are U.S. troops

in Afghanistan?

The terrorists who planned the attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, had lived or trained in Afghanistan. At the time, Afghanistan had a government called the Taliban that greatly limited the freedom of the Afghan people and supported terrorists. After the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and on the Pentagon, the U.S. military attacked Afghanistan and the terrorist camps, leading to the fall of the Taliban. Our military has been there ever since to help keep the country secure as a new government tries to rebuild the country. There are about 57,000 U.S. troops there now.

Is there a war

in Afghanistan?

There is no declared war in Afghanistan, as there is in Iraq. But recently, the situation in Afghanistan has gotten significantly worse for the government, the military and ordinary people. That has endangered U.S. troops and concerned U.S. officials. There was recently an election for president in Afghanistan, but there is evidence that there was cheating in the voting. The outcome of the election still isn’t clear.

Why has the situation

gotten worse there?

Afghanistan is a big country, with different religious, political and tribal groups that want to be in power. There were not enough U.S. troops in the country to restore order after the Taliban was kicked out of power. So the Taliban has been able to reorganize. Now its members are starting to carry out violent attacks against other groups in the country and against the U.S. military. In August, 51 U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan — the deadliest month ever for the U.S. military there.

Why does it matter to us what happens in Afghanistan?

U.S. officials are worried that Afghanistan could again become a place where terrorists can live and train. If that were to happen, it could allow some of these dangerous groups to try to carry out terrorist attacks around the world.

What happens now?

The U.S. government wants to help Afghanistan create a stable, secure government that can keep these dangerous groups from harming anyone else, in Afghanistan, the United States or elsewhere. The president sent 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan earlier this year, and recently the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said even more troops will be needed in the next year if the United States is going to succeed in defeating the Taliban.

What about Iraq?

There is still a war in Iraq, but the situation has improved slowly, after several years of fighting among groups within the country, some of which have been supported by the U.S. military. Now the Iraqi government, with the backing of the United States, is taking steps to rebuild its own government and military so the country can be secure and independent without the help of U.S. troops.