Marines Fan Out In Afghanistan Push

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MELISSA BLOCK, host:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block. In southern Afghanistan, it's day two of the U.S.-led offensive in the Helmand River Valley. About 4,000 Marines are involved, along with several hundred British and Afghan troops. One Marine has been reported killed in action, and several wounded. The Marines are establishing small outposts in towns and villages along the river. For the most part, there's been little fighting with Taliban militants, but Marines did meet stiff resistance today in one area. NPR's Jackie Northam joins us now from Camp Leatherneck. That's the main base for the Marines in the Helmand Province.

And Jackie, what more can you tell us about fighting so far?

JACKIE NORTHAM: This is a huge region that the Marines are covering, and in some places, they've made good progress. It's been fairly smooth moving over land or coming in by helicopter. In other areas, though, it's been much more difficult, in particular an area called Garmsir. And military officials say the Marines there have met significant resistance, more than anywhere else in this operation. In one instance, they came under attack by Taliban fighters using rocket-propelled grenades and small arm and machine gun fire. An airstrike was called in, and a 500-pound bomb was dropped in a location where the Taliban were located. The officials say that they're seeing Taliban and other insurgents using compounds where there are civilians and moving into those compounds and staying there. But then they move away as the Marines close in.

BLOCK: What are you hearing about other challenges that the Marines have been finding?

NORTHAM: Well, certainly, they're facing potential problems with aircraft. You know, they're running a lot of flights to put Marines down into that area and to resupply them and to medevac them, and they don't have enough aircraft at this point. They are going to bring in more choppers. They're on their way. In the next couple of weeks, they should double the number that they have now. But, you know, officials said, look. This is the opening days of this operation. It's going to be like this. It's going to be sort of high intensity flights going down into these areas. The other challenge, though, is the heat. I mean, some Marines have had to be medevaced because of heat exhaustion. You're hitting temperatures well over 100 degrees. They're carrying very, very heavy packs, and they're getting dehydrated.

BLOCK: Well, as the Marines move into these villages and towns, what are they telling you about their interaction with Afghans in the region?

NORTHAM: They say they're getting mixed signals. When they encounter villagers on a one-to-one basis, it' very, very positive. But they also say that they - the people are really cautious. The Marines haven't been down in this area at all up until this point. And some areas, it's very far south. And, you know, the civilians don't want to put themselves at risk. They don't want to get caught between the Taliban and the insurgents and the Americans. So there's a trust issue. A lot of the village aren't sure how long the Marines, the Americans are going to stay. So they want to sort of hedge their bets, if you like.

BLOCK: We've been hearing this operation, Jackie, described as a clear-hold-build strategy, much as was used in Iraq, which means it's a very long-term proposition.

NORTHAM: Well, and indeed, it is. And, you know, the officials here talk about that, that this is going to take years to do. And this is not really something that Marines do. Normally, they go into an area and they - they take an area, they clear an area. But they don't hold it. This is different this time, and this is why there are so many Marines down in this area. This is a long-term prospect, as you said. It's very man intensive. And also, it's going to depend a lot on the Afghan security forces themselves just how well that they can be trained and brought up to help secure an area. And once they feel that this area is secured, then the Marines can leave. But this is not going to happen overnight. They're going to be here for a long time.

BLOCK: We've been talking with NPR's Jackie Northam, who's at Camp Leatherneck, the main Marine base in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. Jackie, thank you very much.

NORTHMAN: Thank you.

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