Security

Marines in for the Long Haul in Southern Afghanistan

Seven days into a major offensive in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, the Marines settling in for a long, hot summer. In a briefing this morning by phone from Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, commander of the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, told reporters, “We stay where we stay, hold where we hold.” In other words, this will not […]

dsc_0331Seven days into a major offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, the Marines settling in for a long, hot summer. In a briefing this morning by phone from Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, commander of the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, told reporters, "We stay where we stay, hold where we hold."

In other words, this will not be a brief sweep to clear the area of the Taliban: The Marines seek a more permanent foothold in Helmand, and they need to demonstrate their willingness to stay on in areas where the Taliban have operated freely in the past. Within 24 hours of taking an area, Marines are supposed to hold a shura (council) with local elders; they are supposed to move swiftly to establish relationships within the communities they are patrolling.

"Our focus is on the people, not the enemy," Nicholson said.

Operation Khanjar ("strike of the sword") in many respects seems like a larger-scale reprise of Operation Azada Wosa ("stay free"), an effort last year by the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit to retake the Garmsir area in southern Helmand Province. Azada Wosa (pictured here) was originally conceived as a short, seven-to-10 day operation, but the Marines quickly shifted to a "clear-hold-build" mission. They ended up staying for several months in small, primitive combat outposts, saturating the area with patrols and conducting a local census. They then handed over the area to elements of the Afghan National Army, with some British advisors in tow.

The current operation, however, has been hampered by a shortage of Afghan security personnel. Around 650 Afghan soldiers and police have augmented the force of around 4,000 Marines flooding the region, but Nicholson was blunt about the lack of Afghan forces. "I’d like to have more, but they’re just not available now," he said.

Nicholson also wants more diplomats and civilian aid workers. A Provincial Reconstruction Team based out of Lashkar Gah provides some support, but ideally, Nicholson said he'd like to have representatives of the "interagency" (i.e., the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other civilian agencies) at every level of operations.

This will be a serious test of the Obama administration's surge strategy for Afghanistan. As Bloomberg's Tony Capaccio notes, this operation may also serve as a template for other offensives as more U.S. troops arrive.

[PHOTO: Nathan Hodge]

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