Marjah: Success for the Military, Hell for the Residents

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Source: Tucson Sentinel

MARJAH, Afghanistan — The dusty squares of Marjah are empty; there is no life, the soul of the place seems to have disappeared. Those residents who are left cower in their homes, afraid of bullets or mines if they venture out, even for food.

"It is a small picture of Doomsday," said Alishah Mazlumyar, the head of Helmand's Department of Information and Culture, and a member of the Marjah shura, or council. "Dozens of civilians have been killed. Their families cannot bury the bodies, and for days they have been lying in their houses, beginning to decompose. There is a smell of death here."

Twelve days into Operation Moshtarak — pitting 15,000 U.S., British and Afghan troops against a few hundred Taliban — the message from the military and diplomatic communities is resolutely upbeat.

Western diplomats term the operation a success, and the media office of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) points to a bright future.

"Signs of steady progress in development and governance are being seen in central Helmand province. Bridges, roads and culverts are being repaired, bazaars are re-opening and attracting customers, and a variety of initiatives are being planned or implemented," read the IJC press release of Feb. 22.

But those in Marjah are telling a very different story.

"There has been very little progress," said Haji Abdurrahman Jan, the head of the Marjah shura and a former police chief in Helmand. "The foreign and Afghan forces have advanced only 2 kilometers from their descent point. This is very little in relation to their numbers."

The residents of Marjah, perhaps unrealistically, expected that the operation would be over much more quickly.

"We thought it would take three days, maximum," said Abdurrahman. "This will have very bad consequences for the people of Marjah."

more: http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/022510_marjah