Helene Cooper | Sunday, Feb 28, 2010 - The Hindu
WASHINGTON: Even as it presses its campaign to run insurgents out of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Afghanistan, the U.S. military is looking ahead toward taking the fight to Kandahar, the Taliban's spiritual and political heartland, said White House officials on Friday.
Major offensive
A senior administration official said the U.S. was planning a major offensive this year in Kandahar.
The announcement confirms what military officials have been saying for weeks: that the Marjah offensive, in which intermittent fighting continued even as the Afghan government symbolically claimed control of the city on Thursday by hoisting the Afghan flag, was a forerunner for a much bigger battle ahead.
“I think the way to look at Marjah, it's the tactical prelude to larger, more comprehensive operations later this year in Kandahar city,” said the official at a background news briefing arranged by the White House under ground rules of anonymity.
“If our overall goal for 2010 is to reverse the momentum and gain time and space for the Afghan capacity, we have to get to Kandahar this year.”
The public announcement that the military intends to try to push the Taliban out of Kandahar is part of an administration approach that includes warning both residents and insurgents — sometimes months in advance — that a big force led by U.S. troops is on its way.
FOCUSING ON KANDAHAR
FOCUSING ON KANDAHAR
February 26, 2010 | After Friday's deadly suicide bombing in Kabul, Judy Woodruff spoke with Gen. Ben Hodges in Kandahar about coalition strategies in the region.
