Marjah and Other Afghan Nightmares
In Afghanistan, the latest surge initiative is the cleaning up of the Taliban controlled town of Marjah. The fighting has been going on for about a week. Early in the week I saw the battle compared to the battle of Fallujah in Iraq. I was a little surprised because I thought we were in it to win ‘hearts and minds’, so totally destroying it while wiping out the adult male population and anyone else who got trapped there with them doesn’t seem like a recipe to win ‘hearts and minds’. An article by David Lindorff on Counterpunch Website entitled “The Battle of Marjah: Why the US has Already Lost” tells us that on the first day, 12 civilians were killed by missiles fired into their home by Marines. More civilian deaths have followed. . . But, I suppose, we can be grateful it’s not another Fallujah.
This weekend, the Washington Post wants us to know that the US forces are already pondering the requisite effort to rebuild. Though the fighting continues in fits and starts as the Taliban have not been entirely eliminated from the area, they are canvasing the town, trying to meet with the townspeople, handing out goodies to children and talking to adults. They have already decided on some juicy projects for after the war. Almost sounds too good to be true. Unfortunately, reading down, we find that the new governor selected to run the town is a nice guy who has lived in Germany for the last 15 years. But it’s worse than that. President Karzai is insisting on his own man for the job. His choice, Abdul Rahman Jan, a man whose ” officers in Marja were so corrupt and ruthless — their trademark was summary executions — that many residents welcomed the Taliban as a more humane alternative. ” So, there’s a good chance we will reinstate the guy that brought the Taliban to power through his abusive practices at front for our ‘hearts and minds’ project.
Now, The New York Times wants us to know that the Afghan fighters aren’t holding up their end in Marjah. In an article titled “Military Analysis: Marines do Heavy Lifting While Afghans Lag”, they pursue this subject in some detail, finishing with stories, not so much about their deficiency in battle, as about their uncooperative attitude in every day affairs. It shows their uncivilized attitude that an officer might insist on tasting a drink before its owner does, but the fact that the guy traded a patch off his uniform for a can of Red Bull doesn’t say anything about the American who sold it to him. Meanwhile, the UK Edition of the Times Online reported that 10 Afghan policemen operating with Marines in Farah Province were killed in a ‘friendly’ fire accident. Ultimately, I think it must be mighty tough to train a mercenary army in the art of fratricide, and I’m not surprised that the caliber of leadership attracted by such a task is sub-optimal. As for the Marines, they are training men that look and talk just like the enemy.
And so, it appears that the mission got off to a rocky start and they aren’t likely to improve much. Lindorff thinks they may succeed in building a picturesque little town, but with Abdul Rahman Jan in charge, how long will it last? If the German-Afghan expatriate Zahir is appointed, how long will he last? If it all depends on how long our guys are willing to stay to enforce a civil society we recognize, how long will that last?