Afghan government claims Taliban stronghold

[NJmaverick]

Source: Associated Press

MARJAH, Afghanistan – The Afghan government took official control of the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, installing an administrator and raising the national flag while U.S.-led troops worked to root out final pockets of militants.

The ceremony was held in a central market as U.S. Marines and Afghan troops slogged through bomb-laden fields in the north of the town. The Marines and their Afghan partners are trying to secure a 28-square mile (45-square kilometer) area believed to be the last significant pocket of Taliban insurgents in Marjah.

Militants and allied troops are still getting caught up in gunfights in some areas, NATO said.

But the number of residents returning has increased in recent days, shops have opened to sell telephones and computers alongside fresh fruits and vegetables, and officials hailed the installation of Abdul Zahir Aryan as the town's administrator as a key sign of progress.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100225/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

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More positive progress

[lamp_shade]

1. Such good news. I've got goosebumps. Thanks for posting this.

[Robb]

2. FWIW, Red Cross had to pull out. Land mines and IEDs.

...left behind by the "freedom fighters" made it too dangerous to move medical supplies.

Clearly the Taliban are thinking first of the people of Marjah. :eyes:

[NJmaverick]

3. The Taliban's tactics are not exactly how insurgents win wars

any insurgency needs to count on the sympathy of the local populations. Planting IEDs every where and using civilians as human shields are going to contribute more to their defeat than anything the Afghan government or the US could do.

[Arctic Dave]

4. Well, by that logic, killing civilians with drones and artillery strikes

will do more to push them away, then anything the Taliban will do.

Sounds like you are screwed with the Taliban or the US.

[NJmaverick]

5. Do you realize the NATO is making every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties in

Afghanistan?

[Arctic Dave]

6. Does that really matter to the dead?

"Oops, our bad", only goes so far.

[NJmaverick]

7. It matters to the families. Deliberate or indifference to life is much worse

there is a huge difference between the Afghan government/Nato and the Taliban

[Flaneur]

8. Tell it to the families.

"Oh,we're sorry we killed your kids. All better now, right?"

[Arctic Dave]

9. Isn't dropping bombs on cities and villages indifference? n/t

[denbot]

10. Everybody gets that war is bad.

Random or saturation bombings are indifferent, we are trying our best to target combatants. The Taliban is a much worst option then what the Afghani people would have with a working central government.

Civilian deaths suck, especially to those who lose loved ones. But not as much as being controlled by medieval religious fanatics for generations. We are not the modern version of the Blitzkrieg. We do have a legitimate interest in leaving Afghanistan a more stable place then when we entered it.

I have a campaign ribbon from service in the Persian Gulf. I am no keyboard commander, I do not advocate war, I am not indifferent to the suffering it causes. Some times you have to do things that suck in hopes that the outcome is better then the alternative.

[NJmaverick]

11. Thanks, that was an excellent post and perspective

[Arctic Dave]

12. The fact that we are involving ourselves in a domestic dispute of Afghanistan

is a problem in itself. The fact that we have killed a lot of people for what we think is better for them is the height of arrogance.

BTW, I have been there too, twenty years ago. Guess what, it changed nothing, just like what will happen when we leave this time. The Taliban is a naturally occurring part of the culture. Dropping bombs and killing people will never get rid of them, ever.

[denbot]

14. Um, do you remember how we got there.

We did not enter that country to take sides in a domestic dispute. The Taliban have regional aspirations, they do represent a domestic threat, once in to do nothing about them would not make sense.

To deny what is obvious, and pretend everything is has it should be, would not be "the height of arrogance", just the bottom of stupidity.

[conservdem]

21. Well said.

[Arctic Dave]

24. I do. I also remember no one actually being Afghani or Taliban being

part of the excuse for us being there in the first place.

[denbot]

27. The Taliban were in a very real sense sponsoring Osama in that country.

Just days before 9/11 they (al Qaeda) assassinated "Lion of Panjshir". The only threat to their sponsor's domestic control. They knew we would be coming and prepared for it. Us going after the Taliban as well as al Qaeda did not need an "excuse".

[conservdem]

20. Are you saying the Taliban is inevitable because of the culture?

Can the culture change to be more fair, just, and tolerant of things like allowing females to attend schools?

[Arctic Dave]

23. Is it worth us killing them for?

Is there no other way to change other then by killing people whom you disagree?

[denbot]

25. What do you think we should be doing?

Since it was not "our side" who sent troops into that country, now that we control the white house and congress what would be your next move, and how would that benefit all involved?

[Arctic Dave]

26. Leave. Let them evolve on the their own.

If they ask for help then give it to them. Other then killing people for them.

[conservdem]

29. Is what worth us killing them for?

I think there are other ways to achieve change.

But again are you saying the Taliban is inevitable because of the culture in that place?

[Arctic Dave]

30. Fundamentalism is everywhere, why do you think we can rid over there?

[Bragi]

15. I got news for you.

You're right, this region has been controlled by medieval religious fanatics for about the last 200 years.

And once the U.S departs, they will once again be controlled by the same medieval religious fanatics.

The only undecided issue is how many foreign troops and civilians will die before this pointless mission is abandoned.

[denbot]

16. Got news for you.

The Taliban is an ultra conservative movement. Those ancient Buddhist carvings they dynamited had been there for a millennium. These guys are not the same as the last two, four, or eight hundred years.

[conservdem]

17. I concur and thank you for your service.

[denbot]

22. Not to be argumentative but Arctic Dave served in the region too.

Please don't express thanks for my service because you agree with my thoughts, and not Arctic Dave for holding a different opinion. I don't mean to imply you intentionally did not, but either way I thank him and all veterans for their service.

[conservdem]

28. Fair point.

I do want to thank all veterans for their service too. I did not know that Arctic Dave had served, but if he did, I thank him too.

[Bragi]

13. No, tell us all about it...

My sense is that they're just mounting a major PR offensive to show that they care and that it's all the fault of the other guys. So do set us straight.

[NJmaverick]

18. Your sense is wrong

the American troops are a bit unhappy with the rules that make it difficult for them but protect civilians but they are following them. You sense couldn't be more off, the efforts to protect civilians is very much real.

[conservdem]

19. Good news and thanks for posting this.

[scottban]

31. Let's straighten things out at home first

"The USA Took My Freedom Away"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHCBmpfr0t4