Site of Marjah Government Offices Seized

Wall Street Journal ^ | Feb. 16, 2010 | Michael M. Phillips

[La Enchiladita]

MARJAH, Afghanistan—U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers seized the site of Marjah's government offices, setting the stage for Kabul to attempt to resume its authority in a town long run by the Taliban.

In a full day of skirmishing, the troops took a former police station in central Marjah, as well as the ruined foundations of the former government center.

"The government will return to Marjah, and in short order," predicted Lt. Col. Calvin Worth, commander of 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.

Progress continued to be deliberate—at times slow—in the fourth day of what the U.S.-led coalition bills as its biggest offensive since the Taliban's fall in 2001, and a grand effort to oust insurgent fighters while restoring the credibility of the Afghan government.

On Tuesday, eight more civilians were killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan. Three died in shooting incidents in the assault on Marjah, while five others were killed in the province of Kandahar, where coalition troops erroneously decided that a group of Afghans were planting an explosive device along a trail.

...The U.S. and Afghan troops raised the Afghan flag above the old district center, which is now used as stalls for a weekly bazaar thought to bring the Taliban large of amounts of tax revenue.

[La Enchiladita]

God bless our Marines!!! And Allies. Outstanding job.

[Drill Thrawl]

Our troops simply amaze me! They can still get this kind of thing done while their CIC keeps them off-balance with hands tied behind their backs.

Nice job people. Keep it up.

[Mr. Jazzy]

OooRah!

God bless our “devil dogs”!!!

[La Enchiladita]

Marines from the 1,500-strong 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, moved methodically through an insurgent warren, picking their way through homemade mines and ending the day in control of about one third of the neighborhood of low homes surrounded by cracked mud-brick walls.

At one point in a nearby bazaar, a lieutenant noticed new wire on an old pole. Further investigation revealed it was connected to eight mortar shells buried beneath 100 yards of road, intended to destroy multiple vehicles in a military convoy. Explosives teams detonated the booby-trap safely.

Just a day earlier, the area, called the Pork Chop [heh] for its shape on the map, had been a haven for insurgents, who used positions there to pepper the Marine outpost with sniper fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Since the offensive began on Saturday, insurgents had been moving each morning to fighting positions in the Pork Chop.

On Tuesday, it appeared that the large number of coalition troops and vehicles with heavy weapons prevented the insurgents from making their way there.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Adding this from ABC...very positive video report...02/16/2010

***************************

American military enters fourth day of intense battle in Marja, Afghanistan.

Marines are winning.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Of course they are. ;-)

[The KG9 Kid]

Gather all the civilians in the town together for a mendatory dental hygiene lesson led by a Navy Corpsman while the Marines in the background burn their hooches to the dirt.

[Just Lori]

[Just Lori]

[tobyhill]

“U.S.-led coalition bills as its biggest offensive since the Taliban's fall in 2001”

God bless our troops but the MSM and Washingtoncrats have billed this as the biggest offense yet it was Tora Bora that killed over 200 Al-Qaeda.

[Just Lori]

ABC must be getting tired of losing viewers.

[Just Lori]

Sorry. I can't help myself....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Must be,...they ran a very Excellent interview of former Vice President Cheney Sunday on their talk show....

[robert561]

Yes, great job America!!!

[dervish]

Go Marines!

May God keep them safe and return them to their families.

[MinorityRepublican]

Not enough Insurgent casualties in this battle. They’ll just melt away into the countryside and re-emerge somewhere.

[Drill Thrawl]

ROR!

[ohioWfan]

And with the official U.S. government against them.

These are brave, BRAVE Americans!

God BLESS our troops!!

[ohioWfan]

Our troops don’t HAVE a Commander in Chief.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

Prayers Up...