Democracy Arsenal

« Rounding Up the Week: McChrystal, Pakistan and a Defense of Woodrow Wilson | Main | Michael Gerson Mostly Right About Nobel Speech »

December 11, 2009

One More Thing . . . About the Marine Offensive In Helmand
Posted by Michael Cohen

I'm curious about something. If the new US focus in Afghanistan is to protect the population why are sending 1,000 Marines into Helmand Province to occupy a ghost town?

Hundreds of US Marines and Afghan soldiers descended on a nearly empty city in southern Afghanistan on Friday to cut off supply routes for Taliban fighters who have taken refuge in the area. The troops want to starve out the insurgents holed up around Now Zad, which was once a vibrant city of 30,000 but now is a virtual ghost town because years of fighting.

This combined with all the tough talk from the Administration about cracking down on Afghan Taliban safe havens in Pakistan makes me think that in the short term our focus in Afghanistan will be a bit more enemy centric and a bit less population centric. Good (ish). If we're really going to make a fight of this then regaining the military initiative against the Taliban seems to be an essential first step - and squeezing the Taliban from both sides seems like a smart approach.

Of course there are two problems here. One, we have no guarantees that the Pakistanis will actually allow us to to take the fight to the Quetta Shura or will even do it themselves. Second, we have no Afghan Army to help us hold the gains made in Helmand, a point confirmed by Admiral Mullen.

Mullen, pressed by Levin, conceded that there may be some cases where the United States has to hold areas after clearing them, at least until Afghan National Army capabilities rise. Mullen’s estimate: there will be 170,00 Afghan troops available by July 2011. Gates said the goal by December 2010 is 130,000 soldiers.

170,000 Afghan troops available by July 2011? And I want to play shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. Color me skeptical. This gets to the proverbial fly in the ointment of this whole Afghan strategy. Even if we do everything right over the next 18 months, if the Pakistanis, the Afghans and yes, the Taliban, don't do their part the whole thing either isn't going to work or it's not going to be sustainable.

UPDATE: Gregg Carlstrom makes another interesting point about the reports he is seeing out of Afghanistan that coercion and violence by ISAF forces is on the rise:

None of this stuff -- killing civilians, detaining elders, focusing on the drug trade and "Taliban strongholds" -- comports with Gen. Stanley McChrystal's stated mission of population-centric counterinsurgency.

What? I am shocked; shocked I tell you to hear anyone suggest that population centric counter-insurgency is occasionally coercive and violent. I'm sure news of this will send the folks who wrote FM 3-24 back to the drawing board.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451c04d69e20120a744d818970b

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference One More Thing . . . About the Marine Offensive In Helmand:

Comments

When the DEA locates a large marihuana field growing in some out of the way place in a state in the US, do they leave the marihuana growing to prevent economic 'damage' to the region and remain camped in place for the next ten years to A) apprehend the actual marihuana traffickers and B) 'persuade' the locals to otherwise grow legitimate crops???"Let's compare apples to apples here and be pragmatic, ummmK?OK. Will the British troops continue to moan, complain and whine as the going gets tougher. Can we depend on them to hold their own? I don't think the entire US did this much whining when US troops liberated UK from Nazi's 60+ years ago....

Marihuana should be a legitimate crop, but anyways...

Operation Cobra's Revenge (sigh - who names these things?) has plenty of goals. Here is my cut'n'paste summary from the media coverage:

The local valley is "a major through-route" for the Taliban and the town of Now Zad has become a nest of bomb making camps, opium storing centres, a "blooding ground" where young jihadists cut their teeth and a transit point for foreign fighters, mainly Pakistanis, to other parts of Helmand.

The offensive aims at cutting off the Taliban communication routes & supply lines, finding weapons caches, and killing and capturing Taliban forces.

The larger goal is provide enough security for the Afghan government and NGOs to begin clearing explosives so they can repopulate the town. Aiding them was the combat debut of the Marines' massive mine and bomb-clearing machine, the Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) which is built on the chassis of the M1A1 Abrams tank. One area of town is so heavily mined, Marines refer to it as "no leg alley." Since 2005 several Marines have lost limbs there.

In order to secure control of the area, the ISAF are building checkposts and outposts as they go. Once the Marines (& Brits, Dutch, ANA) have secured the area, however, it is the Afghans who are expected to hang on to it.

So that's the rationale at least.

I really appreciate the kind of topics you post here. Thanks for sharing us a great information that is actually helpful. Good day!

Thanks u admins. good msj

http://www.t-racking.com racking
http://www.racking-shelving.com shelving

professional racking & shelving manufacturer, pallet racking, drive in racking,
cantilever racking, longspan shelving, dexion racking,

Your article very interesting, I have introduced a lot of friends look at this article, the content of the articles there will be a lot of attractive people to appreciate, I have to thank you such an article.

Thank you for your article.
Looking For discount louis vuitton handbags?
The store online sells the louis vuitton bags.
Welcome to visit and buy lv handbags.

Thank you for your sharing.! seslichat seslisohbet

Manufacture Hydraulic Tools, offer from hydraulic crimping tool, cable cutter, pipe bender, gear puller, hole digger and hand pumps.

Thank you for your sharing! I like i very much!

Great comments! You are so nice, man! You never know how much i like'em!

Yes, that's cool. The device is amazing! Waiting for your next one!

Yes, that's cool. The device is amazing! Waiting for your next one!

爵士与衣服去的伦敦“链接伦敦珠宝“链接/ 1”给我们提供了一块幻想,所以丝带重要的一个有效的联络线以上的胸部有点看起来太棒了,因为这个原因,这可能正是魅力盛会的纯洁和天真。在进行装饰。因此,你将永远不会类似的服装,年龄,职业,肤色和小麦的影响将通过轴承宝石看那些不那么生动地举例来说,珍珠或银色装饰家庭“1的HREF =”http://www 。linksoflondonstore.com“”连接伦敦“/ 1”的经典魅力。与沉闷的女士们也破坏对他们来说,数组。没有什么会比这些肉质夫人谁将加以研究征税的这些链接辉煌伦敦珠宝批发权“/ 1”。完善征税女孩穿着既不应该不安,将延长约的魅力是恰当的形式或你的脸你的脸完全不同的影响。此外,玛瑙,宝石黄褐色是正确的,您的因果礼服太普通,如果伦敦的关系与服装相匹配。有些脸红。希望能帮助你!让你的脸可靠的外观。与周围面对你想寻找他们。你知道什么!妇女的伦敦的魅力“链接伦敦手镯“/ 1”首饰要小游戏和伦敦市中心的优雅是容易的,小的连结,和其他方面想珠宝的权利。

When you meet a person, you can judge him in many things. Such as his clothing, accessories he wears or his deportment. Sometimes we can also judge him by his jewelry. Links of London jewelry can reflect your taste well. Throughout its history, Links of London has been synonymous with the most beautiful jewelry in the world. The company was established in London, by Harvey Nichols, which was the exclusive London fashion store in London has become one of the most successful jewelers in the world.
Links of London jewelry was founded in 1999 and it is now a well known brand of high quality jewellery. In the whole country, it has opened many stores, including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and Hong Kong. Among all the links of London jewelry, Links of London Bracelet are the most popular ones. They are beautiful and glory.
Links of London opened its first major retail store in London and now has corporate offices in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong. Links of London's flagship store in Canada opened last September and the further stores are set to open in other areas of the world.
Exclusivity and quality are the keynotes of the links of london sale collections. Links of London is a vertically integrated company with its own diamond workshops so it takes rough diamonds all the way through to finished jewelry. Today it is the largest producer in South Africa with one of the biggest polishing and cutting factories based in Johannesburg employing over 300 craftsmen.
The quality items produced by Links of London do not stop at Sweetie Bracelets - their other ranges, such as 'Flutter and Wow' and 'Love me Love me not' are full of uniquely pretty and intricate designs. The variety of all the products means that the ranges should easily be able to cater for the most unusual or discerning of tastes.
All jewelries of Links of London are made by hand in its London workshops, now in two adjacent 18th century townhouses in Mayfair, from the creation of the design to the immaculate settings that reveal the beauty of its gemstones. Each piece requires many hours of work, some several hundred hours. Every gem is a diamonds: From crystal-clear to delicate pinks, blues, yellow and even very rare true reds. Earrings, links of london necklaces and pendants are designed around diamonds of incredibly clarity and astonishing color, while rings command attention with unique and exquisite settings. Once having seen a Links of London diamond, you will never mistake it of anything else.

We all know these years china pallet racking in china develop very fast, now the design capacity of racking is very strong in china.
You can see every kind of china racking in china, includingDrive in racking,
cantilever racking, shelving,Longspan shelving, dexion racking,. We also have very experienced engineer to do the design and instlaation job.
Mezzanine Floor
refrigeration equipment

We all know these years china pallet racking in china develop very fast, now the design capacity of racking is very strong in china.
You can see every kind of china racking in china, includingDrive in racking,
cantilever racking, shelving,Longspan shelving, dexion racking,. We also have very experienced engineer to do the design and instlaation job.
Mezzanine Floor
refrigeration equipment

Yellow lens of Ray ban wayfarer can 100% filter UV, allowing infrared and 83% visible light through the lens.

Its greatest feature is that you can filter the sun's most dazzling blue.

Sunlight through the atmosphere, the most performance is the blue light, which is why you see the sky is blue. Yellow lens filters blue light, the natural scenery can be seen more clearly. So driving with a yellow lens Ray ban 2010 sunglasses, you can more clearly see from the vehicle.

Ray ban sunglasses sale


ray ban 2010 sunglasses sale


ray ban sunglasses sale


ray ban wayfarer message from http://www.eyewear-rayban.com

Türkiyenin ilk Hiphop Sitesi Hiphop, Türkçe rap + Gekko G Fan Sitesi Gekko G, Mask animasyon sitesi

No one look is dictated, only your imagination is the limit.So what will happen in 2010 on the accessories front? Well the links of london past will continue to be a strong influence on the future, it's where we come from those matters so we will also harbor great affection for vintage and antique pieces, eager to update them or create links of london jewellery our own special look.But while we look to the past for inspiration there will be lots of key modern items to give voice to the times we live in right now. 2009 gave us some great tubular futuristic metal links of london necklaces, industrial pewter looking cuffs, huge chunky necklaces, lots of colorful flat bead shapes infused with marbling. 2010 and beyond will see these styles developing links of london charms even further, more inspiration will come from the Far East where their genius production knows no bounds. More people will experiment with making their own jewels to fit their individual style as many will have learnt lessons from the dark days of recession and know that homemade doesn't mean there has to be a compromise on style. Also it is a great way to make a bit of extra cash by selling pieces links of london sweetie bracelet to friends or setting up a little business.The recession has to end some time and although we will feel singed and sorry in many ways, the human spirit will triumph; beauty and the passion for fashion will continue to thrive.

Are you fighting in Final Fantasy XIV for FFXIV Gil or Final Fantasy XIV Gil?
Can you suffer yourself being called newbie in FFXIV Gil game?
Are you seeking unofficial Buy FFXIV Gil cheats or Final Fantasy XIV guides in order to make Final Fantasy XIV Gil faster?
Can you get millions of Cheap FFXIV Gil in one day?
Even if you know how to farm Buy Final Fantasy XIV Gil you have to prepare enough Final Fantasy XIV Power Leveling first to buy height class Final Fantasy XIV Items, to upgrade your Final Fantasy XIV characters.
Buy aika gold
Then why not Buy FFXIV Gil from us?
In Final Fantasy XIV it's the fastest way FF14 Gil,for you to get rich. We are online 24 hours a day ready and 7 days one week to power up your FFXIV Gil accounts with FFXIV Gil. Here is the best place for the Final Fantasy XIV Online players to buy your Final Fantasy XIV Gil.
We are the professional website in FFXIV GIL sale.FFXIV GIL here,We are professional FFXIV Power Leveling online. We update price every single day to make sure we are the lowest in the market.(we don't compare price with scam sites which uses unbelievable low price to deceive.)
Our slogan:Cheapest price, Fastest delivery, Best service!

Cheap aika gold
In the 2 years we are in this field , AIKA Goldbuilt many business with tens of thousands of customers. They are very satisfied with our service.So if you want to get a log of Cheap FFXIV Gil ,no doubt ,come to our website to buy. Our customer service is ready for you on line now!(GM MMO)

We are committed to developing environmentally friendly and energy-saving explosion-proof light, led flashlight, led mining light,spotlight and light towers use of new technologies and materials.

apples to apples here and be pragmatic, ummmK?OK. Will the British troops continue to moan, complain and whine as the going gets tougher. Can we depend on them to hold their own? I don't think the entire US did this m

Post a comment

Comments are moderated, and will not appear on this weblog until the author has approved them.

This weblog only allows comments from registered users. To comment, please Sign In.

Emeritus Contributors
Founder
Subscribe
Sign-up to receive a weekly digest of the latest posts from Democracy Arsenal.
Email: 
Powered by TypePad

Disclaimer

The opinions voiced on Democracy Arsenal are those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of any other organization or institution with which any author may be affiliated.
Read Terms of Use