Word: afghanization
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...allied commanders in Afghanistan are preparing for the biggest battle of the eight-year war, knowing that its outcome will reveal the chances of success for President Obama's revamped Afghan strategy. About 20,000 U.S., British and Afghan troops will soon storm Marja, the Taliban's final redoubt in the southern province of Helmand. A town of 80,000, Marja has for years been a den of narcotics traffickers and insurgents, serving as a launching pad for roadside bombs and suicide attacks. If the U.S. and its allies succeed in driving out the Taliban - and, perhaps more importantly, bring...
...battle has actually been under way for several weeks, as Afghan and Western forces have announced their plans to the local population while moving into position. Pentagon officials say this unusually public "shaping" of the battlefield has one key goal: while hundreds of hard-core Taliban are hunkering down for a fight, many more, along with thousands of residents, have fled Marja until the dust settles. That should limit civilian casualties and, they hope, lure some lukewarm Taliban over to the government side. "We're not interested in how many Taliban we kill," Army General Stanley McChrystal...
...Afghan officials know that die-hard Taliban forces have been burying hundreds of improvised explosive devices around the town in recent weeks. "It's giving time and space to those who want to fight to dig in," says Ali Jalali, who served as Afghanistan's first post-Taliban Interior Minister and now works with the Pentagon's National Defense University in Washington. "It could be very bloody, and that could affect public opinion in Europe...
...effort to roll up Marja follows last summer's sweep through much of Helmand, which drove many additional Taliban into the town. While there weren't enough troops to take the town at that time, the growing ranks of Afghan security forces and some of the additional 30,000 U.S. troops ordered to Afghanistan by Obama in December have given commanders the ability to storm Marja, U.S. officers say. While last year's offensive was largely a U.S.-led affair, this time Afghan forces will account for about half of the troops involved. Operation Moshtarak - "Together" in the Afghan Dari...
...what follows the fighting that will be the real test. While many in Marja detest the Taliban, they are just as angry at the impotence of the Afghan government to better their lives despite years of promises. U.S. officials say Afghan President Hamid Karzai, some 500 miles from Marja in Kabul, has become a full partner in the planning of the offensive and its follow-up development efforts. Afghan and U.S. experts will flood Marja after the offensive, helping to set up local government and schools, and offering cash to entice poppy growers to shift to wheat. After driving...