February 13, 2010
— DrewM
USMC Photo
All reports seem to be that the operation is going well.
At least 20 Taliban fighters were killed in the first hours of the assault, said General Sher Mohammad Zazai, commander of the operation's Afghan troops."So far, we have killed 20 armed opposition fighters. Eleven others have been detained," he said, adding they were killed in separate engagements.
NATO commanders were "very pleased with how it has gone," senior British military spokesman Major General Gordon Messenger told a briefing in London.
"The key objective has been secured," he said, explaining that the main aims for British troops were to secure the population centres and installations such as police stations in the Chah-e Anjir Triangle northeast of Marjah.
There had been some "sporadic fighting," but the Taliban appeared to be "confused and disjointed" and unable "to put up a coherent response," he said.
The seeming lack of major fights with the Taliban may be because they simply aren't prepared to fight or perhaps they have melted away as they have before only to return later.
In the past coalition forces would take an area but then not have the forces to hold the area let alone implement the third leg of the COIN stool...build. If that's what the enemy is counting on this time, they appear to be in for a disappointment.
“We’ve got a government in a box, ready to roll in,” said Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander here.Indeed, Marja is intended to serve as a prototype for a new type of military operation, based on the counterinsurgency thinking propounded by General McChrystal in the prelude to President Obama’s decision in December to increase the number of American troops here to nearly 100,000.
More than at any time since 2001, American and NATO soldiers will focus less on killing Taliban insurgents than on sparing Afghan civilians and building an Afghan state.
“The population is not the enemy,” Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, the commander of the Marines in southern Afghanistan, told a group of troops this week. “The population is the prize — they are why we are going in.”
To realize their goals, the Americans and their allies want to capture the area with a minimum amount of violence. American commanders say the attack on Marja is intended to be nothing like the similar size assault on the city of Falluja, Iraq, in November 2004. In that case, Falluja, under the control of hundreds of insurgents, was largely destroyed. The Americans killed plenty of guerrillas, but they did not make any friends.
“We don’t want Falluja,” General McChrystal said in an interview this week. “Falluja is not the model.”
The Times of London also has an excellent article on the offensive, including local reaction to the offensive.
As I've said before, I'm pessimistic about the ability of the coalition to make Afghanistan anything approaching a normal state but I hope I'm wrong. I don't however doubt for one second the ability of the US Marines and the rest of the American military to kick the Taliban's ass.
So far, they seem to be doing just that. Continued prayers for their success and safety.
Posted by: DrewM at
03:47 PM
| Comments (330)
Post contains 538 words, total size 4 kb.
Taliban isn't an army inside Afghanistan. It's a job description.
When AQ pukes sneaking around there offer enough money, and it seems safe to do so, Afghanis become Talibs. Once the money dries up, or there are too many troops around, they just go home and farm poppies.
Destroying the Taliban permanently has to be done in Pakistan.
Posted by: Kristopher at February 13, 2010 04:02 PM (kCEOg)
Posted by: steevy at February 13, 2010 04:05 PM (+/kHE)
20 Taliban dead and 3 US troops dead is not a good ratio.
Posted by: Sgt. Jackson at February 13, 2010 08:02 PM (qFaBV)
Those deaths came on the approach when IED's went off outside of the town. I'm sure that ratio has changed exponentially since then in our favor.
Posted by: Blazer at February 13, 2010 04:06 PM (t72+4)
Posted by: HH at February 13, 2010 04:06 PM (GkYyh)
Posted by: HH at February 13, 2010 08:06 PM (GkYyh)
Has he ever wandered into Rachel Maddows dressing room @ the exact wrong time? No? Then BFD. Michael Yon - WORST. PERSON. IN. THE WORLD.
Posted by: Olberdouche at February 13, 2010 04:09 PM (YX6i/)
Get it done, win the war, come home safe. Very proud of all of them.
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 04:10 PM (erIg9)
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 04:12 PM (593B8)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 04:17 PM (rQTdM)
55" plasm TV and a good blu-ray would allow them to watch..umm...what the hell would they watch?
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 08:17 PM (rQTdM)
The Men Who Fuck Goats
Posted by: Blazer at February 13, 2010 04:19 PM (t72+4)
What did you expect them to use? A F-35?
Posted by: Sgt. Jackson at February 13, 2010 04:19 PM (qFaBV)
What government? That's the problem.
Posted by: HH at February 13, 2010 08:17 PM (GkYyh)
Karzai, the Mayor of Kabul? Who else, unless we cut a deal with the Taliban (Pathans).
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 04:20 PM (593B8)
Posted by: FUBAR at February 13, 2010 04:21 PM (1fanL)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 08:17 PM (rQTdM)
The way it's won their hearts and minds in Britain and the rest of Europe? Danish cartoons ring a bell?
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 04:22 PM (593B8)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 04:22 PM (rQTdM)
Has he ever wandered into Rachel
Maddows dressing room @ the exact wrong time? No? Then BFD. Michael
Yon - WORST. PERSON. IN. THE WORLD.
Posted by: Olberdouche at February 13, 2010 08:09 PM (YX6i/)
Is that why you hate women?
Posted by: FUBAR at February 13, 2010 04:22 PM (1fanL)
"Those deaths came on the approach when IED's went off outside of the town."
What did you expect them to use? A F-35?
Posted by: Sgt. Jackson at February 13, 2010 08:19 PM (qFaBV)
No, I'm just sayin' you were the one who said 20-3 kill ratio was bad. Approaching a town where the enemy has been dug in for weeks with ample warning and time to prepare for an onslaught, that aint so bad as far as numbers go in the beginning of a campaign.
Posted by: Blazer at February 13, 2010 04:23 PM (t72+4)
Posted by: Meggy Mac at February 13, 2010 04:25 PM (5I0Yr)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 08:22 PM (rQTdM)
lol
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 04:25 PM (erIg9)
Posted by: Juicer at February 13, 2010 04:25 PM (BWcvK)
Posted by: Meggy
Mac at February 13, 2010 08:25 PM (5I0Yr)
Isn't there a stick of butter calling your name somewhere?
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 04:26 PM (erIg9)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 04:26 PM (rQTdM)
On a related note, those troops can look forward to being monitored upon their return Stateside by Bruno Napalitano and her goons. Seriously, Drudge and The Blotter for "situational awareness"? Damn these people are fucking idiots.
Posted by: Dang Straights at February 13, 2010 04:26 PM (XIYrR)
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 04:28 PM (erIg9)
Blazer, I won't get into a wordplay scuffle with you. "Goat Whisperer"? LOL.
Mr. Karzai goes to Washington.
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 04:29 PM (rQTdM)
Posted by: Joe Biden at February 13, 2010 04:30 PM (4tixt)
If so, it probably can't believe it's not me.
Posted by: Meggy Mac at February 13, 2010 04:30 PM (5I0Yr)
The US won every engagement of significance in Vietnam and still lost the war.
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 08:12 PM (593B
The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973.
The United States did not lose the war in Vietnam, the South Vietnamese did after the US Congress cut off funding. Yes, the liberal/socialist were in charge of Congress during that era, and they also have dirty hands for the debacle in Cambodia where seven million were murdered by the Pol Pot regime.
Posted by: Fish at February 13, 2010 04:36 PM (M5t+h)
Posted by: conscious, but incoherent at February 13, 2010 04:43 PM (Vu6sl)
Eleven others have been detained
Detaining enemy combats has been shown to be diametrically opposed to the general welfare and well being of the American military due to liberal/socialist in the DOJ/DOD hellbent on charging our patriotic men with crimes.
The only solution to he problem is a double tap!
Posted by: Fish at February 13, 2010 04:44 PM (M5t+h)
In his weekly address this morning, Obama told the US athletes to go for the gold.
What he wanted to say, but didn't, was that any US athlete on the podium receiving a gold medal should apologize to the world for their exceptionalism and say that they really didn't deserve it.
Posted by: beedubya at February 13, 2010 04:45 PM (AnTyA)
Posted by: Fish at February 13, 2010 08:44 PM (M5t+h)
Yeah double tap! I just watched Zombieland last night for the first time and loved it.
Posted by: conscious, but incoherent at February 13, 2010 04:45 PM (Vu6sl)
If the enemy makes you decide to stop fighting and go home that is victory.
If the Taliban keeps fighting in Afghanistan until the US decides to leave and six months later Karzai's government is overrun and a theocracy established, that too would be a defeat.
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 04:46 PM (593B8)
Posted by: conscious, but incoherent at February 13, 2010 04:46 PM (Vu6sl)
Posted by: Editor at February 13, 2010 04:48 PM (YX6i/)
Posted by: conscious, but incoherent at February 13, 2010 04:48 PM (Vu6sl)
Posted by: conscious, but incoherent at February 13, 2010 04:52 PM (Vu6sl)
86 There's Something About Mahbuba
Great minds think alike. Or something.
Posted by: SlaveDog at February 13, 2010 04:53 PM (W+E+o)
Posted by: garrett at February 13, 2010 04:54 PM (RfEaZ)
If the enemy makes you decide to stop fighting and go home that is victory.
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 08:46 PM (593B
Again, that isn't what happened. The Paris Peace Accords were agreed to by North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States. It took almost five years to negotiate the accords, and after the US left the country, both North and South Vietnam violated the terms and conditions of the accords on numerous occasions.
The US was no longer in a position to enforce any action against either North or South Vietnam, and the resulting chaos ensued with NVA tanks occupying the presidential palace in Saigon which collapsed the government.
"No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic."
-Richard Nixon
Posted by: Fish at February 13, 2010 04:56 PM (M5t+h)
Posted by: Mikey NTH at February 13, 2010 04:57 PM (nlRuk)
The only solution to he problem is a double tap!
No way. We probably deployed with a cohort of defense attorneys so the jihadis can lawyer up on the battlefield.
Posted by: Dang Straights at February 13, 2010 04:57 PM (XIYrR)
Posted by: beedubya at February 13, 2010 04:58 PM (AnTyA)
Total bullshit that's an absolute waste of fucking time, and maybe American lives.
When you attack the enemy, you want as many targets to kill as humanly possible.
You never, ever allow the enemy to know when or from where you are coming.
Reasoning? Because they will do one of two things. Set up to murder your people wholesale (what I'd do if some dumbass told me they were coming), or worse yet, and what's obviously happened here, flee.
Obama has to be running this show, as NO military commander would ever do something this fucking ridiculous.
And yeah, I got a week or so in the Infantry to back up everything I've said.
Posted by: Dick at February 13, 2010 04:59 PM (toLtB)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 05:00 PM (rQTdM)
Dang, can't you just see a platoon of Airborne Lawyers halo-ing into the battle, briefcase at the ready, packing some serious Miranda heat?
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 09:00 PM (rQTdM)
My preference would be for the dweebs to be forced to use a two-holer without complaining about the unfair treatment to their mothers.
Posted by: Fish at February 13, 2010 05:06 PM (M5t+h)
I would like your Sales Manager to contact me as soon as possible.
Posted by: TXMarko at February 13, 2010 05:07 PM (KGJlV)
can't you just see a platoon of Airborne Lawyers halo-ing into the battle, briefcase at the ready
Damn, I can now. Gonna have nightmares about that. I was thinking stretch hummers.
Posted by: Dang Straights at February 13, 2010 05:07 PM (XIYrR)
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 05:07 PM (erIg9)
Posted by: SlaveDog at February 13, 2010 05:08 PM (W+E+o)
Posted by: eman at February 13, 2010 05:08 PM (4tixt)
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 05:10 PM (erIg9)
Funny how the Army remained in Korea after the war there, and in Germany and Japan following that conflict. Why no US divisions in South Vietnam for a period of time following the Great Victory?
The US left because they got sick of fighting the war.
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 05:11 PM (593B8)
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 05:12 PM (erIg9)
To realize their goals, the Americans and their allies want to capture the area with a minimum amount of violence. American commanders say the attack on Marja is intended to be nothing like the similar size assault on the city of Falluja, Iraq, in November 2004. In that case, Falluja, under the control of hundreds of insurgents, was largely destroyed. The Americans killed plenty of guerrillas, but they did not make any friends.
This simply is not true. Al Qaeda in Iraq alienated the inhabitants of Fallujah with their wanton brutality. The Marines and Iraqi security forces were welcomed by what remained of the local populace.
Posted by: Dirk Diggler at February 13, 2010 05:15 PM (prrw7)
Posted by: WisConbowhunter at February 13, 2010 05:16 PM (S3BMi)
The Bearded Princess Bride
Posted by: conscious, but incoherent at February 13, 2010 05:19 PM (Vu6sl)
Why no US divisions in South Vietnam for a period of time following the Great Victory?
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 09:11 PM (593B
The agreement with Germany was part of the Marshall Plan, and the negotiated cessation of hostilities with Nouth Korea was so fragile, the JC's recommended to Truman we keep a ready reactionary force in South Korea.
Although no peace agreement was ever signed between North and South Korea or the United States, there have been numerous border incidents over the years with a few American soldiers murdered by North Korean soldiers patrolling the DMZ.
There was no reason to maintain a field force in Vietnam because the three parties were in agreement and signatory to the Paris Peace Accords. End of story.
Posted by: Fish at February 13, 2010 05:19 PM (M5t+h)
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 05:23 PM (erIg9)
Posted by: Charlie Gibson at February 13, 2010 05:25 PM (1kwr2)
Posted by: Fish at February 13, 2010 09:19 PM (M5t+h)
Gosh, what a stunning shock it must have been to discover that those peace loving agrarian reformers in North Vietnam were fibbing to the US all the time. Who can possibly have seen that coming?
Are you for real, or are you just jerking my chain here?
Posted by: Sharrukin at February 13, 2010 05:27 PM (593B8)
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 05:28 PM (erIg9)
Posted by: garrett at February 13, 2010 05:30 PM (RfEaZ)
Posted by: conscious, but incoherent at February 13, 2010 05:30 PM (Vu6sl)
Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, and Buckets of Scorn for the Left at February 13, 2010 05:31 PM (erIg9)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 05:33 PM (rQTdM)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 05:48 PM (rQTdM)
Posted by: FUBAR at February 13, 2010 05:48 PM (1fanL)
Posted by: beedubya at February 13, 2010 05:52 PM (AnTyA)
Posted by: FUBAR at February 13, 2010 05:54 PM (1fanL)
Posted by: mghorning at February 13, 2010 06:03 PM (V7VgK)
Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of Da Shit
Posted by: beedubya at February 13, 2010 06:11 PM (AnTyA)
Posted by: Tommy Gunnar at February 13, 2010 08:17 PM (rQTdM)
Man, I gots' to go, but I just want to thank Tommy for starting one of the funniest threads that I've ever seen.
Posted by: HH at February 13, 2010 06:52 PM (GkYyh)
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Posted by: Sgt. Jackson at February 13, 2010 04:02 PM (qFaBV)