"Top Marine commander in Afghanistan says former Taliban stronghold of Marja has been won."

[Clio the Leo]

I aim not to please but to inform. ;)

Commander Says Fighting Over in Former Taliban Stronghold
By Yochi J. Dreazen
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 | 2:14 p.m.

The top Marine commander in southern Afghanistan said an innovative local defense initiative in the former Taliban stronghold of Marja had finally brought the contested town under NATO and Afghan control, a rare bit of good news from the battlefield as the Obama administration concludes a broad review of its Afghan strategy.

Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Mills told National Journal in a phone interview that the “fight in Marja is essentially over,” with coalition forces flushing the remaining Taliban fighters to the town’s outskirts and helping the Afghans open new schools, government offices, and medical facilities there.

Mills said many of the gains were the result of a new U.S.-funded program that pays local villagers to guard their neighborhoods against Taliban encroachment. The general said more than 300 Marja residents were taking part in the security program, which is called the Interim Security Critical Infrastructure initiative, or ISCI. Though Mills did not specify how much they were paid, Afghans taking part in similar programs typically earn the equivalent of $100 a month.

Those participating are vetted by the United States and allowed to use their personal weapons while on patrol, but they don’t receive arms or ammunition from the American forces in Helmand.

http://nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/commander-says-fighting-over-in-former-taliban-stronghold-of-marja-20101208

[griffi94]

1. MISSION ACCOLMPISHED

[DCBob]

2. Its hard to imagine anything good coming from this seemingly endless hopeless war..

but hopefully something does.

[asjr]

3. I stopped reading fairy tales when I was about nine.