General Describes Marja Push as ‘Initial Salvo’

New York Times ^ | February 21, 2010 | JOSEPH BERGER

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Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of the United States Central Command, said Sunday that the battle now being fought in the Taliban stronghold of Marja was the “initial salvo” in a military campaign that could last 12 to 18 months.

In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” news program, the general, who oversees the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, sought to put the Marja battle “into context” by explaining its part in the overall effort by American, Afghan and other forces to defeat the Taliban. He said that the coalition had spent recent months mapping strategy, gathering resources and preparing the leadership of a “comprehensive civil-military campaign” in Afghanistan.

[HChampagne]

General Petraeus said that American troops had encountered tough fighting from a force he called both “formidable” and “a bit disjointed at this point.” The Talian will definitely be a tough oponent. After all, we trained them.