Get Out of the Way: NATO Tries the Power of Advertising

Source: The Economist

FOR months now United States Marines in Helmand, Afghanistan’s bloodiest province, have been sporting T-shirts proclaiming their intention: “Just do Marja”. This refers to a cluster of Taliban-controlled villages close to Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. Marja’s lawlessness and the protection it affords to insurgents and drug-traffickers has been frustrating the marines’ efforts nearby. The T-shirt wearers are about to get their wish. American forces, led by the marines, are preparing a big operation to clear the area.

Unusually, NATO has made no secret of its plans and for some time has been loudly publicising “Operation Mushtarak” (or “togetherness” in Pushtun). They hope this will encourage civilians to get out of harm’s way. They also hope that the mere prospect of NATO and Afghan soldiers massing on Marja will prompt insurgents to leave via three unsealed exit corridors.

Neither hope has been entirely realised. Since NATO started its publicity drive, thousands of civilians have abandoned their homes and headed for nearby cities and an overcrowded refugee camp on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah. But others say they have been prevented from leaving by the Taliban, who have been digging in to defend their territory, and by the improvised explosive devices with which the insurgents have been seeding the roads. Mark Sedwill, NATO’s civilian representative in Afghanistan, advised locals to stay indoors and keep their heads down.

Marja is being billed as an important test and advertisement for the counter-insurgency strategy of Stanley McChrystal, the American and NATO commander in Afghanistan. He says the follow-up work to maintain security and build a semblance of basic governance will matter more than the initial fight. Mr Sedwill believes Marja residents will learn the benefits of better governance, economic opportunities and of living under the rule of law.

Critics say there is nothing especially new about such a strategy. Last year, similar claims about the rolling-out of a comprehensive strategy accompanied Operation Khanjar, a plan to clear areas south of Lashkar Gah. The results are mixed. Progress in the town of Nawa, on the fringe of the fertile, populated area (known as the “Green Zone”) is said to very promising. But the operation has also been criticised for focusing scarce resources on thinly populated areas.

more: http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15500645

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“Just do Marja” T-shirts? Sickening.

about the refugees. They are living in mud huts with mo heat or water. It has begun to rain and get cold, so their living quarters and camp are becoming a giant mudpit. :cry:

"Just do Marja" -- right, and when that doesn't "end" the Taliban? Where's the next "Just do"? Do they not fucking get there will always be a new "Marja"???