In Golestan, changing mission could mean troops must move on

[unhappycamper]

Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, chats with villagers in a bazaar in the Golestan district of western Afghanistan's Farah province. Nov. 13, 2009.


In Golestan, changing mission could mean troops must move on
By Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, November 21, 2009

GOLESTAN DISTRICT, Afghanistan

When U.S. Marines first entered this stark, scenic valley nearly two years ago, their mission was to build up local security forces and eliminate the Taliban resistance.

But the Marines found precious few rebel fighters. And in recent months, the strategy for international forces has shifted from chasing down the Taliban to protecting Afghan civilians.

The change in mission has left the Marines in a quandary. Golestan, in Farah province in western Afghanistan, is their most remote outpost. And with an estimated 54,000 people scattered among more than 150 villages, the valley hardly qualifies as an important district under the counterinsurgency strategy laid out by U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the overall commander of international forces in Afghanistan, this summer.

Marine commanders are wondering: Now that they have been committed to Golestan for the past two years, how can they just leave?

“Is it strategically important? Not really,” said Capt. Ryan Benson, whose troops from Company I, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Re were recently posted at a small base in the valley. “But at this point, it would probably do more harm than good if we pulled out of here.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66228