Source: RawStory

One day after U.S. troops officially vacated Iraqi cities, handing control over security to the Iraqis themselves for the first time since 2003, America’s “other war” has been ramped up significantly.

According to breaking media reports, some 4,000 Marines and 650 Afghan troops are involved in a massive operation, launched early Thursday morning, to reclaim the Helmand River Valley from Taliban control.

The BBC News website cites “officers on the ground” who say this is the “largest Marine offensive since Vietnam.”

The Washington Post reports that U.S. forces descended on Helmand province in helicopters and armored convoys. The sparsely-populated, arid area lost its government services after the Taliban evicted government officials and police officers.

The operation, the Post reports, represents a major tactical change for forces in Afghanistan:

Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade’s commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban, and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.

Helmand province’s main river valley accounts for half the world’s opium production, the Post states.

Reuters reports “flares in the sky over the town of Nawa, south of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.”

The news service notes that British-led forces, responsible for the area thus far, have struggled to keep the Taliban at bay.

The United States has sent 8,500 Marines to Helmand province in the last two months, the largest wave of a massive buildup of forces that will see the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan rise from 32,000 at the beginning of this year to 68,000 by year’s end.

President Barack Obama has declared the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan to be the main security threat facing the United States.

The BBC notes that a major part of the challenge will be to win over the sympathies of the local population once Helmand province is in the hands of Western forces.

“One of the most critical things is to tell people why we’re there, and we are going to have a limited opportunity to gain their trust,” Brig.-Gen. Larry Nicholson said at a military briefing last week.

UPDATE

McClatchy news service is reporting that U.S. troops in Afghanistan have been given orders to fall back if they think civilians are at risk during an operation.

Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, will issue the directive as part of an effort to cut down on civilian casualties, which have enraged the Afghan government and residents. Instead of calling in air support or firing into civilian homes where Taliban fighters have sought refuge, commanders will be instructed to reach out to tribal elders or undertake other efforts to dislodge the fighters.

Another McClatchy article says James L. Jones, national security adviser to President Obama, has declared that no more U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan this year.

In an exclusive interview with the news service, Jones said “that he’d told commanders on the ground that the time for debate was over three months ago and that it’s time to implement the new three-step plan with the troops already committed, plus a renewed emphasis on economic development and the rule of law.”

– Daniel Tencer