America's North Shore Journal

Marja has been characterized as representing the first test of President Barack Obama’s strategy to add 30,000 more troops in the fight against Afghanistan-based insurgents. As the initial phase of operations comes to a close, Lynn said, Marja has emerged as an area where hope is returning.

“Because of our new strategy, and President Obama’s deployment of additional troops, Marja is one of many cities in Afghanistan that has begun to have hope,” he said. “And with Pakistan’s capture of key Taliban leaders, the strategy of targeting adversaries on both sides of the border is paying off.”

Videos and photos of Operation Moshtarak in Marjah Afghanistan

During the meeting, three elder Afghan men sat down to talk with Marines and said they were glad Marines and Afghan national security forces had come to the area.

“We are happy you’re here for our security,” said one of the men. “The Taliban come in our homes and make us feed them. We have barely enough food for our own families. We just want to live in peace.”

Despite dislocating the insurgency within 24 hours of landing in the region, Feb. 13, Carter said, fighting continues in Marja, which to date has claimed the lives of six allied troops, including four Americans. Some 15,000 NATO and Afghan forces are engaged in Operation Moshtarak, which in Pashto and Dari means “Operation Together,” including 8,000 to 10,000 ground troops.

“In Marja itself, there remains stiff resistance from the insurgence,” Carter said. “And U.S. Marines in partnership with Afghan security forces are still fighting [an] intense series of actions, in the process of clearing Marja as a whole.”

Afghan-international security forces conducted clearing operations Nov. 1 through 6 in the Chahar Dara district of the northern region of Kunduz province, killing more than 130 insurgents including eight Taliban commanders.

More than 25 ISAF and Afghan National Security Force personnel were killed or wounded during a joint operation that involved multiple engagements over several hours yesterday in Western Afghanistan.

Agoglia was one of the planners of the original invasion in 2001. He described the original U.S. position as one where we would chase al Qaeda and the Taliban and NATO would enable the new Afghan government. A gap developed between the government and the people, resulting in the last three years of Taliban growth. The United States has now directed efforts to governance operations and change is coming, slowly. The media seem to want immediate results and that is just not the way change will happen.

This operation has been achieved in many ways due to the arrival of extra US troops into the south of Helmand. The increase has provided ISAF with a massive boost in capability which we believe will significantly change the balance in the province.