Monday, December 21, 2009
Taliban fighters (photo: AP)
Imagine the Taliban arrived in Connecticut, ready to attack the surrounding Northeast, and the government sent only a few hundred troops to patrol the state’s borders to keep the enemy at bay. That is comparable to what a small detachment of U.S. Marines are trying to do in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban uses neighboring Pakistan to stage its operations against American and allied forces.
In Helmand province, a single Marine battalion—at only 50% strength—is responsible for patrolling approximately 6,000 square miles, an area larger than Connecticut. The lack of troops makes it easier for Taliban fighters to slip over the Pakistani border and continue the fight in other parts of Afghanistan. The Marines’ ability to operate near the border is also limited by the presence of hostile forces in the area and the lack of easy access to medical facilities.
As part of the 30,000-troop surge President Barack Obama has ordered, 8,500 Marines will eventually be deployed in Helmand. But those reinforcements aren’t expected to arrive until mid-2010. In the meantime, the U.S. cannot risk pulling troops from other areas of the country to help secure the border with Pakistan.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Taliban Sneak Past Marines in Southern Afghanistan (by Sebastian Abbot, Associated Press)
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