Re: No secret as U.S. Marines plan for Afghan assault

[Guest guest]

This is true in the short term. However, for long-term stability they are going to need local police forces that are competent and not corrupt. Next, the Afghan army will have to be able to take the place of the US Marines in fighting the Taliban. The "special forces" might be able to now, but not so much the rank and file.

But mainly it all has to start at the local level. Police who live in the villages, rooting out Taliban supporters and beating them in the villages this way. If the people in the villages let them back in and there is nothing to stop them from coming back, all of our military forces will fail. In fact, more of our troops in the region are likely to increase resentment wether they linger or if they come and go, leaving the Taliban to return and take revenge on the locals for helping the Marines.

In a message dated 1/15/2010 9:25:37 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

He is counting on a huge extra force of U.S. Marines that President Barack Obama has dispatched to southern Afghanistan to change that, in what is likely to be the first big military push of Obama's new "surge" strategy."The Taliban cannot resist the Marines. They have crushed the Taliban all over the province," said Zair. "I hope the situation will get better and I can go and live there."