Surging smartly: The Marines are rising to a risky challenge in Afghanistan

In sere and savage southern Afghanistan, U.S. Marines have taken a remarkable step toward reclaiming the countryside from Taliban fighters.

The linkup of units of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines in the town of Marja was doubly impressive in that the military is going to extraordinary lengths to safeguard civilian lives while combatting an enemy that doesn't scruple at any bloody trick.

Deadly subterfuges and plentiful mines be damned, the Marines appear on the verge of securing the strategic heart of Helmand Province, a Taliban stronghold along the Pakistan border.

The struggle is not just for territory or to destroy enemy assets. U.S. strategy calls for creation of a viable government infrastructure that will protect ordinary citizens from the return of tyranny.

U.S. commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal has spoken of "government in a box," ready to be unpacked as a replacement for terrorist rule.

For this instant government to take root, it must quickly empower local leaders. And there are early indications that the strategy will work. A local council has assigned men to work with the Americans. The people of Marja, emboldened by the U.S. presence, were reported to be denying food and shelter to Taliban fighters, no longer so intimidated by their weapons.

Both fights, the one against the enemy and the one for the support of the people, will be long and hard, but at the battle of Marja, the United States Marines are showing how they can be won.
NYDaily