Marja: Operation Moshtarak Tests Obama's Afghan War Plan

repeter · Feb 9, 2010

The offensive, when it begins in earnest, will largely be conducted on foot. That's because the terrain surrounding Marja is latticed with canals built by the U.S. a generation ago to expand agriculture to 250,000 acres in the Helmand River valley. It also gave the region the nickname "Little America." The canals and ditches created a network of bridges unable to support armored vehicles and gives the Taliban good places to hide IEDs - the top killer of U.S. troops in Afghanistan - and snipers. They also turned the region into lush farmland that has proven ideal for growing opium-producing poppies.

20,000 troops are going to send some hurt to the Taliban. Afghanistan's Fallujah maybe? If I recall, in Iraq, the Battle for Fallujah was a turning point. maybe this is going to be the same thing for Afghanistan...

cpwill · Feb 9, 2010

Al-Fajr wasn't the turning point in the Iraq War; the decision a year later to push in, clear, and then hold was the turning point. I would say that when Ramadi flipped it became evident we were headed in a different direction. We moved into Fallujah a year and a half after Al-Fajr, and we were seeing contact on a daily basis until we punched out into the city and held it, street by street. the trick won't be if we push through Marja; it will be if we stay in it, just like we did in Nawa.

Marja: Operation Moshtarak Tests Obama's Afghan War Plan

repeter

cpwill