After several years of war with too few troops and too little national commitment, Marines are taking care of business in Afghanistan.
(HELMAND, Afghanistan) - 4000 Marines landed in Afghanistan a few days ago and officials report that Operation Khanjar or Strike of the Sword is in full swing.
Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade accompanied by around 650 Afghan soldiers, are part of Operation Khanjar, staged on the Helmand River.
Wikipedia reports that this is the biggest push since the Pentagon began moving additional troops into the conflict earlier in 2009, and the largest for the Marines since the 2004 invasion of Fallujah, Iraq.
The American operation comes on the heels of a British-led operation called Operation Panther's Claw in the same region and is the first big push since American General Stanley McChrystal took over as Allied commander.
The operation involves both the U.S. and Afghan military occupying towns and villages along Afghanistan's Helmand River.
Their goal is the secure the civilian population from the Taliban, while pushing troops into insurgent strongholds along the river.
After the Marines and Afghan soldiers take and hold the captured areas, responsibility for maintaining the security will be transferred to the Afghan soldiers.
The Marines are also helping to raise the level of security in the Helmand Valley in time for scheduled August 20th 2009 presidential elections.
The first aggressive phase lasted 36 hours. Garmsir and Nawa are reportedly key targets of the assault, which are towards the southern border with Pakistan.
Many of the insurgents are said to take refuge in those locations, and are reported to be involved in the opium trade that in part funds the Taliban.
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Special thanks to Wikipedia and the U.S. State Department for information in this article.
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