NATO Operation Grinds On

Operation Moshtarak,the push to re-establish the Afghan government in Helmand Province,is now well under way.The Marine rifle company which was inserted by helicopter at the beginning of the battle has been reinforced by another company on the ground.The operation was well-publicized to allow civilians to leave and Taliban militants to flee.Some have done so,but the foreign fighters among them will not.There are perhaps hundreds of foreign fighters in that area.Fighting in the key town of Marjah has been house to house,with periods of heavy mortar and small arms fire from the militants.
Intelligence on the area had been gathered for a few weeks prior to the start of the battle.It is now in the clearing phase,which could take up to a month or two.Some say the second phase-the holding phase-is even more challenging.The Taliban will almost certainly counterattack.
Marjah is the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand.It is the opium capital of the province.Sales of opium bankroll the militant activity in Afghanistan.Although important,Helmand is not the Taliban nerve center;Kandahar is.Operation Moshtarak is a template for future operations in the surge phase of the war.
About 15,000 U.S. Marines,British forces,other NATO troops and fully integrated Afghan forces are participating in the operation.As of Wednesday,five U.S. Marines had been killed in action,along with a British soldier.The militants have peppered the Marjah area with improvised explosive devices.NATO troops have managed to neutralize a large percentage of the IEDs,yet they remain a grave threat.