Ace of Spades HQ

January 04, 2011

United States Marines: Winning Friends And Influencing People In Afghanistan
— DrewM

After months of hard fighting, some signs of hope?

The leaders of the largest tribe in a Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand province have pledged to halt insurgent attacks and expel foreign fighters from one of the most violent spots in the country, the senior U.S. Marine general in Afghanistan said Monday.
Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, who commands coalition forces in the southwest, said the deal was struck between local elders in the Sangin district and Helmand Governor Gulabuddin Mangal with the consultation of coalition forces. The area has witnessed some of the heaviest fighting of the war.
However it is unlikely that the violence will cease immediately in Sangin as the die-hard Taliban leadership under the command of Mullah Mohammad Omar, which is based in the Pakistani city of Quetta, will keep fighting.
But the cooperation of the tribal leaders in the effort to rid the area of insurgents could help shorten the war in one of the most violent places in Afghanistan.
...Sangin is a strategic region for the Taliban and one they do not want to lose. It is a key crossroads to funnel drugs, weapons and fighters throughout Helmand and into neighboring Kandahar province, the spiritual heartland of the Taliban. It is also one of the last remaining sanctuaries in Helmand where the Taliban can freely process the opium and heroin that largely fund the insurgency.
Â“The insurgents have already begun to strike back savagely at those who desire peace but so far the elders remain steadfast,Â” Mills said in a statement.
Mills said that his forces would continue to push into Taliban and insurgent-controlled areas and would fight back if confronted.
According to MangalÂ’s office, the deal was struck on Saturday in the center of Sangin after 25 days of negotiations.
Â“As they are the majority in that area we can say this will be a successful process in that area,Â” Ahmadi said.

Sounds kind of like Anbar Provence in Iraq during the surge, doesn't it?

It's obviously still early and there's going to be more fighting but if the tribal leaders can deliver on this and/or provide support for the Marines battling the holdouts, that's got to be good news.

Added: via John Noonan- Top US General in Eastern Afghanistan says, "We've really thwarted the momentum of the insurgency, and I think it's going the other way,"

Posted by: DrewM at 08:02 AM | Comments (27)
Post contains 414 words, total size 3 kb.

1 But if any of them ever used the word "fag", they are horrible people and should be discharged.

Posted by: Mr Pink at January 04, 2011 08:06 AM (8xBMr)

2 I gaurentee their commander has used the N word before. He should be relieved of command immediately. By commander I mean Obama.

Posted by: Mr Pink at January 04, 2011 08:08 AM (8xBMr)

Sweet.

Now what about Pakistan?

Posted by: garrett at January 04, 2011 08:11 AM (51Lv9)

4 I have given up on this war. The senior commanders are going to say anything that Obama wants. They can do nothing else except resign.

Obama said he would send troops for the "surge". He said he would send less than the minimum asked to win. What he has actually sent has been even less than that.

He will pull out before this year is up and every troop that dies between now and that shit political policy is nothing more than a needless death to appease Obama's politics.

Posted by: Vic at January 04, 2011 08:14 AM (M9Ie6)

5 Colman McCarthy thinks you're full of shit.

Posted by: boniface ballers at January 04, 2011 08:15 AM (bPbwB)

6 #4 Vic: if so, then perhaps the Obamunist will truly be a one-term president. This could be his Carter-Iran, or Ford-South Vietnam.

Posted by: Curmudgeon at January 04, 2011 08:16 AM (ujg0T)

7 I'm hoping this works out; it seems like a good counterinsurgency strategy. But, since treachery is the order of the day among Afghans you've got to trust but verify.

Posted by: joncelli at January 04, 2011 08:17 AM (RD7QR)

8 That piece in the sidebar about CiC Barky not calling the Gold Star mother has me so angry there are no words.

He finds time to call the Eagles to put in a good word for Michael Vick, but can't/won't call the family of a fallen soldier.

Worst POS CiC in history. Bastard.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2011 08:19 AM (UOM48)

9 Blackbirds were using the iPhone alarm clock app, woke up in middle of night by mistake, and flew into ground.

Posted by: Cherry π at January 04, 2011 08:20 AM (+sBB4)

10 Posted by: Vic at January 04, 2011 12:14 PM (M9Ie6)

I don't think he will. I don't think he's trying to win, but I think he'll try to "manage" the war until he's out of office so that the next President will get hit with the blame. If he can arrange it so that President is a Republican AND the economy is so in the tank that it won't recover for more than 8 years from that time, so much the better: he thinks (more likely, his advisers) that by so doing he can undermine Republicans' two biggest areas: being better on the economy and better on national defense.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at January 04, 2011 08:20 AM (8y9MW)

11 This just in... "the enemy will keep fighting"

Posted by: Cherry π at January 04, 2011 08:21 AM (+sBB4)

12 He finds time to call the Eagles to put in a good word for Michael Vick, but can't/won't call the family of a fallen soldier. Worst POS CiC in history. Bastard. Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2011 12:19 PM (UOM4

Agreed. His every action is geared towards maintaining his hold on power. He needs to solidify his gangsta support in Philly to take PA in 2012, but since he's effectively disenfranchised the military he doesn't need to bother with them. He is, as we would say in the old neighborhood, a schmuck.

Posted by: Nighthawk at January 04, 2011 08:25 AM (02uN6)

13 why were the birds flying at night anyway?

Posted by: phoenixgirl at January 04, 2011 08:25 AM (eOXTH)

14 I just hope we aren't being lied to by our enemies.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy at January 04, 2011 08:34 AM (b6qrg)

why were the birds flying at night anyway?

I blame McCartney and Lennon!

Posted by: Tipper Gore at January 04, 2011 08:41 AM (51Lv9)

why were the birds flying at night anyway?

I blame McCarthy, not Lenin!

Posted by: Chris Matthews at January 04, 2011 08:43 AM (51Lv9)

15
>>9 Blackbirds were using the iPhone alarm clock app, woke up in middle of night by mistake, and flew into ground.]

I'm surprised no one's blamed Global Warming yet.

Posted by: LouisianaLightning at January 04, 2011 08:45 AM (W1mrP)

18 foreign born insurgents were always less than 1% of the fighting force. Heroin provides some funding but less than the money that the Saudis send. And probably a lot less than the insurgents receive from protection, extortion, and corruption of US funding sources.

Posted by: archie bunker at January 04, 2011 09:03 AM (0YS61)

19 If it's true, it's a good sign. I'm still concerned with what might happen in Pakistan if the Islamists try to overthrow the government there.

Posted by: Armando at January 04, 2011 09:06 AM (nd0uY)

20 that area where great things are happening is an area less than 10 miles square

Posted by: archie bunker at January 04, 2011 09:08 AM (0YS61)

Heroin provides some funding but less than the money that the Saudis send.

Sounds to me like you're talking out your ass here. Care to leave a cite?

Posted by: spongeworthy at January 04, 2011 09:25 AM (rplL3)

22 Sounds to me like you're talking out your ass here.

It's the john Ryan.

Posted by: Eo ipso at January 04, 2011 10:41 AM (S5YRY)

Drew, I realize that you probably didn't mean any disrespect to us with this, but the green machine really does quite well with PR on its own. It's the darnedest thing, but they often forget to mention anyone else who is doing things along the same lines as they are (funny that), but then maybe the rest of us should devote more of our time and attention to shameless self-promotion.

Signed,

America's Premiere Warfighting Institution

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Posted by: mijian65 at January 04, 2011 04:09 PM (UzYYK)

25 R. Lee Ermey has apologized for his Obama is a socialist comments. I guess his GEICO bosses dressed him down. Now I'm worried and feeling a little screwed. Anyone else?

Posted by: gringopurpleflamingo at January 04, 2011 06:42 PM (hh2Hp)

26 I love the bumper sticker that says:

"It's God's job to judge the terrorists. It's our mission to arrange the meeting."

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