Marines Stymie Taliban, Earn Afghan Villagers' Trust (CAUTION: PHOTOS May Cause Blurry Screen)

Defend America News ^ | Sgt. Joe Lindsay

[SandRat]

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Andrew Giermann takes an Afghan boy’s hand during a visit to Rechah Lam in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, March 11, 2006. Giermann, of the Scout Sniper Platoon of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, joined other Marines in distributing food, blankets, clothing and toys. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Joe Lindsay More Photos
Marines Stymie Taliban, Earn Afghan Villagers' Trust
The Marines of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment have a dual mission: to track down insurgents and to ensure Afghan villagers have the opportunity to live in peace.
By U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Joe Lindsay Task Force Lava Public Affairs RECHAH LAM, Afghanistan, March 28, 2006 — The primary mission of the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment is to track down insurgents and render their operations ineffective. "Rechah Lam, in particular, has been getting a lot of pressure from the Taliban to shut down the girls’ school. We are not going to let that happen. All children deserve an education. The insurgents are steadfast against girls receiving any type of schooling. This is the type of enemy we face, an enemy that wants to keep the people enslaved both mentally and physically." U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Carl DeSantis But another mission is to ensure villagers are afforded the opportunity to live in peace – so that farmers can farm, shop owners can sell their wares, and children, including girls, can attend school without fear of retribution. The Lava Dogs, as the 1/3 Marines are known, took on these missions after arriving in eastern Afghanistan from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, about three months ago. Their investment in Afghans’ lives has paid huge dividends in trust and in intelligence-gathering, which has led to further victories on the battlefield, said U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. James Robertson, section leader of the battalion’s combined anti-armor team. “Going to villages, meeting with elders and showing our support to villagers has been something we have done since day 1, and is something we will continue to do as long as we are here,” said Powell, of Portland, Ore. This show of support to the villagers of Afghanistan was evident on a recent mission to the tiny village of Rechah Lam, in Kunar Province.	“We get out to Rechah Lam as much as possible, because for some reason that village has been a place where the insurgents think they can control the villagers through intimidation and threats,” Robertson said. “An [Afghan National Police] outpost near Rechah Lam was attacked by insurgents, and we headed out there immediately. “The village elders informed us that members of the Taliban had been in the village the day before, threatening to kill villagers who allowed girls to attend school,” Robertson continued. “We came back and brought school supplies for those girls and, as a result of our continuous show of force and support, the Taliban have not been back since, and those little girls are getting the education they so desperately need.” Besides school supplies, the Lava Dogs also gave out winter clothing, shoes, blankets and basic food staples. Navy corpsmen provided medical check-ups, with an emphasis on providing care for children, said Marine 1st Lt. Carl DeSantis, the distributed-operations platoon commander. “Rechah Lam, in particular, has been getting a lot of pressure from the Taliban to shut down the girls’ school,” DeSantis said. “We are not going to let that happen. All children deserve an education. The insurgents are steadfast against girls receiving any type of schooling. This is the type of enemy we face, an enemy that wants to keep the people enslaved both mentally and physically.” Ensuring that schools, including girls’ schools, are left free to operate is an important element in the war on terrorism, said DeSantis, of Reno, Nev. “In my opinion, the people we really need to concentrate on are the children,” he said. “They are the least biased, and they are not set in their ways as much. They haven’t lived through the Russian war, and they are going to be either the future leaders of democracy or the future fighters against it.”

[pissant]

Good find.

But according to Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi its still a quagmire in Afghanistan too.

[SandRat]

Now just who are you going to believe those two or a solitary Marine?????

[pissant]

I'd like to see Pelosi and Dean and Murtha in front of a group of Marines for a heated Q&A session.

[SandRat]

That would be like putting three widdle wambs into a Pack of Ravenous Wolves.

[McGavin999]

It will be years before we leave that country. By that time, some of these children will be adults and they will be strong, intelligent, and educated adults who will be capable of running that country well.

[pissant]

True, but those cretins need to see and hear from the patriots who they are trying to undermine on a daily basis.

[yankeedame]

One of the "More photos":

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A village elder shakes hands with U.S. Marine Corps
Staff Sgt. James Robertson during a visit by members of
the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment to Rechah Lam,
Afghanistan, March 11, 2006. Robertson is a section
leader with the battalion’s Combined Anti-Armor Team.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Joe Lindsay

[pierrem15]

And you know if the Dems drive us from Iraq, Afghanistan will follow immediately.

[pissant]

You are right. And that is why I think God that we have a CIC that won't allow that to happen.

[LZ_Bayonet]

Six other short guys like the bearded one + one young blond= The cast of "Snow White".