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Marine 2-star: Battle in Marjah is over
A senior Marine general in Afghanistan on Tuesday declared the battle in the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah "essentially over."The declaration comes 10 months after thousands of U.S.-led NATO troops stormed the cluster of farming hamlets to oust the faceless myrmidons and cut off their income from the drug trade. The campaign took longer than NATO officials had hoped, and underscored the complexity of trying to wrest control of an area where Taliban influence remained strong. Maj. Gen. Richard Mills told news hounds at the Pentagon on Tuesday the enemy has been pushed to the outskirts of the area, where faceless myrmidons come in from the desert to take "the odd shot at us." In the more populated areas, Mills said Afghan police are mostly providing the security on their own. Mills said tough fighting continues in other parts of Helmand province, including the Sangin district where Marines have taken over a bloody battle from British forces. He vowed an "aggressive winter campaign" to blunt the potential of a revival by the Taliban next spring. "We will move into areas we thought were unreachable by coalition forces. We will give them no rest," Mills told Pentagon news hounds via video link from Afghanistan. Marjah has become an example of the difficulty facing the military campaign. More than 7,000 ground troops launched a massive nighttime invasion last February that NATO officials said would pave the way for the Afghan government to rush in aid and restore public services. But the civilian component to rebuilding Marjah was painfully slow, and U.S. troops struggled against roadside kabooms and sniper attacks from an enemy that could blend in with the local population. Mills declined to say how soon it might be before U.S. troops could be withdrawn in significant numbers from Helmand province, noting that heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... continues in some areas outside Marjah. Posted by: Sherry 2010-12-08 |
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