This significant battle continues, step by step. The WaPo had a couple of interesting articles on the subject, as well as more of their excellent photography. One article reads, in part:
“But in purely military terms, sending 11,000 U.S. and Afghan troops to defeat a few hundred Taliban fighters in Marja won’t change much in Afghanistan. The greater significance of the battle is in how it is perceived in the rest of Afghanistan and in America. …
“The other group McChrystal wants to influence is the Afghan people and the Taliban, who saw the July 2011 withdrawal deadline as a sign of wavering U.S. will. “This is all a war of perceptions,” McChrystal said on the eve of the Marja offensive. “This is all in the minds of the participants. Part of what we’ve had to do is convince ourselves and our Afghan partners that we can do this.”
“A swift victory over the Taliban in Marja, followed with a robust development effort, could sway some Afghan fence sitters.”
Not just fence sitters, so to speak, but the whole population; demonstrate to them that the government of Afghanistan is the sure bet, the safer bet. This means governance, services, the rule of law, effective policing. The lack of these things is what has enabled the insurgency to grow in the last few years. Good security and good governance will eject the insurgency from the population.
There’s a lot riding on this operation. My own opinion is that while there’s no doubt we can beat the Taliban militarily in, out, around and beyond Marjah, the bigger harder battle will be the reconstruction. If it goes well, Marjah will be a turning point. Nothing, especially in war, succeeds like success. Stay tuned.
