The United States Marine Corps is taking it to the enemy in Afghanistan as we speak:
Thousands of US Marines stormed into the Helmand river valley under cover of night yesterday, the opening phase of Barack Obama’s new high-risk strategy in Afghanistan. In Operation Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword, hailed by one commander as a “D-Day moment”, 4,000 Marines entered the lower Helmand river valley, hoping to do in hours what British troops have failed to do in three years. It is part of a massive surge ordered by Mr Obama, doubling the number of American troops and flooding Helmand with 10,000 Marines – far in excess of the 8,000-strong British contingent stationed there since 2006. Operation Khanjar aims to capture and hold a swath of Taleban territory, opening the way for a massive influx of development aid and allowing the Afghan Government to put down roots before its presidential election on August 20. The election is a critical test for the leadership of President Karzai, once a darling of the West, now tainted by accusations of corruption and ineffectuality yet still regarded as Afghanistan’s least bad option.
And the enemy slips away:
The Marines faced little Taliban resistance as they began moving into villages in the Helmand River valley, a Taliban stronghold that is one of the world’s largest opium-producing regions. Marine commanders said Taliban fighters seemed to have melted into the surrounding countryside rather than staying to fight the large US force. “There’s been sporadic fighting, but it’s been light,” Capt. Bill Pelletier, a Marine spokesman, said in an interview from southern Afghanistan. “Our focus isn’t on going in and killing Taliban; it’s on driving those folks out of the area and keeping them from coming back.”
More:
Columns of US Marines in eight-wheeled armored vehicles pushed deep into southern Afghanistan on Thursday in an attempt to cut off Taliban supply lines from Pakistan and restore order in areas long neglected by short-handed NATO forces. The movement of the Marines to the town of Khan Neshin in the lower Helmand River valley is the most significant deployment of US forces in areas near the Pakistani border with southern Afghanistan, and it reflects a growing concern among US military and intelligence officials that much of the violence that has plagued the south is linked to a flow of fighters and munitions from Pakistan’s Baluchistan region. The troops encountered roadside bombs and small-arms attacks, which resulted in the death of one Marine, but commanders opted to mute their return fire. In the first 24 hours of the operation, the Marines did not lob artillery or call for fighter planes to drop bombs. The drive to Khan Neshin is part of a Marine campaign to root out Taliban insurgents by restoring the authority of local officials and police departments in the Helmand River valley.
The afghani’s are hoping this new offensive will lay the groundwork for a peaceful election in two months time. If the Taliban hold power in many areas you can bet they will do their best to keep people from going to the polls and the Helmand area is one of those areas under Taliban control….but not for long as my Marines come in.
Add this to the positive signs from the registration push:
Some analysts see positive glimmers in the voter registration results. Some 4 million Afghans added their names to the voting rolls in a voter registration drive that began last year, far exceeding expectations given the deteriorating security situation.
“It does give some hope,” says Col. Christopher Langton, a retired British Army officer and Afghanistan expert. “But one has to balance that by saying registration isn’t voting.”
And we can hope the election goes smoothly, with the help of our Marines.
Of course NATO is in charge over there, wonder why it took the US to actually accomplish something.
See author page
Don’t assume that the Taliban are slipping away. Small forces puff themselves to make themselves look bigger than they are. When other forces take ground, the small forces show their true size. Many of their squads are 6 guys guys or less. If two squads (a dozen guys) where holding a town and 6 of those guys died, one side sees 6 guys dead while the other side sees 50% of their forces destroyed in that area.
It is about time we take the offensive. GO MARINES!
OORAH!
Helmand is a very rugged piece of real estate. Hot this time of year, dusty, sparsely populated and close enough to Pak for the Taliban thugs to use the Pak border sanctuaries if they aren’t blocked from escaping.
The mission has potential to be successful if there were more boots on the ground to do do a thorough the sweep and more forces to block the escape routes. With the current force level it is cat and mouse and with the Taliban types familiar with the ground and able to pick and choose their fights at their discretion. The troop levels need to be increased as the Afghan Army does not have the numbers to secure their territory and so far are unable to effectively handle the task.
Obama put out a lot of smoke & noise during his Campaign on how the real effort needs to be in the Stans and increasing the troop numbers. The last Commander there was relieved in part because he did request more forces. Our NATO Allies are so encumbered by the limitations on their own Rules of Engagement that they are, with the exception of the Brits and Australians, just tourists in uniforms.
I wish the Marines success but this is just a dangerous job of cat & mouse with not enough cats deployed. Insufficient resources for the tasking. I was there in 02′ but further north than Helmand.
Didn’t the former commander fit the old world profile of conventional warfare vs. asymmetrical (use of special forces)? This seems to be just a bitch against Pres Obama, while forgetting we are trying to win a war against the enemy that attacked us on 9/11. I applaud Pres Obama for making the change in leadership and refocusing our attention on KICKING SOME TALIBAN AND AQ ASS.
“D Day” moment! Please do not compare 4000 marines in the Stan to the D DAY Invasion.