7
7point62
Guest
Lima 3/6 leading the assault
From the LA Times:
Thousands of U.S., British
and Afghan troops
moved to seize the Taliban
stronghold of Marja early
Saturday in what the Marine
general leading the assault
called a “big, strong and
fast” offensive aimed at challenging
the insurgency’s grip
on a key southern Afghan
province.
Rounds of tracer fire
lighted up a starry, predawn
sky as waves of troops, ferried
in by helicopters, descended
on the farming districts
that surround the
town. Transport and Cobra
attack helicopters also
dropped rounds to illuminate
the ground.
Troops initially met only
modest return fire from inside
Marja.
Sporadic firefights had
broken out throughout the
day Friday on the periphery
of Marja as Marine units
probed Taliban defenses.
The commander, Marine
Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson,
had for weeks telegraphed
the military’s plans for the
offensive, one of the largest
since the war began in 2001.
The United States and its
allies hope the assault, the
biggest joint operation by
Western and Afghan troops
to date, will prove to be a
turning point in the conflict
with the Taliban and other
militants that have carved
out swaths of territory in Afghanistan.
Military leaders expected
about 7,500 coalition
troops to occupy Marja by
nightfall, with 7,500 more
supporting the mission from
elsewhere in the Nad Ali district
of Helmand province.
Marines, led by battalions
from Camp Pendleton
in California, Camp Lejeune,
N.C., and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii,
attacked from multiple
directions in an effort to confuse
and overwhelm Taliban
fighters. Each Marine battalion
was paired with an Afghan
battalion.
The offensive is seen as a
test both of the fighting spirit
of the Afghan army and
the ability of the government
of President Hamid Karzai
— with the help of NATO
forces and a large corps of civilian
workers — to quickly
establish a working government
in Marja, a town of
about 85,000.
Why "telegraph" plans weeks in advance? WTF?
From the LA Times:
Thousands of U.S., British
and Afghan troops
moved to seize the Taliban
stronghold of Marja early
Saturday in what the Marine
general leading the assault
called a “big, strong and
fast” offensive aimed at challenging
the insurgency’s grip
on a key southern Afghan
province.
Rounds of tracer fire
lighted up a starry, predawn
sky as waves of troops, ferried
in by helicopters, descended
on the farming districts
that surround the
town. Transport and Cobra
attack helicopters also
dropped rounds to illuminate
the ground.
Troops initially met only
modest return fire from inside
Marja.
Sporadic firefights had
broken out throughout the
day Friday on the periphery
of Marja as Marine units
probed Taliban defenses.
The commander, Marine
Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson,
had for weeks telegraphed
the military’s plans for the
offensive, one of the largest
since the war began in 2001.
The United States and its
allies hope the assault, the
biggest joint operation by
Western and Afghan troops
to date, will prove to be a
turning point in the conflict
with the Taliban and other
militants that have carved
out swaths of territory in Afghanistan.
Military leaders expected
about 7,500 coalition
troops to occupy Marja by
nightfall, with 7,500 more
supporting the mission from
elsewhere in the Nad Ali district
of Helmand province.
Marines, led by battalions
from Camp Pendleton
in California, Camp Lejeune,
N.C., and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii,
attacked from multiple
directions in an effort to confuse
and overwhelm Taliban
fighters. Each Marine battalion
was paired with an Afghan
battalion.
The offensive is seen as a
test both of the fighting spirit
of the Afghan army and
the ability of the government
of President Hamid Karzai
— with the help of NATO
forces and a large corps of civilian
workers — to quickly
establish a working government
in Marja, a town of
about 85,000.
Why "telegraph" plans weeks in advance? WTF?
