Battle for Marjah, The (2010)

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Battle for Marjah, The (2010)

Post by bunniefuu »

I'm part of a machine

that always wins.

There's no worse enemy

than the United States Marine.

Um...

you know, we're...

we're masters of

controlled chaos and v*olence.

You know, there's definitely

scary parts of that plan.

Marjah is such a difficult

piece of ground,

hundreds and hundreds of Taliban here,

and not only Taliban

but kind of

the hard-core extremists,

best-trained guys they've got.

IEDs everywhere,

triple possible,

you know, anti-aircraft g*ns.

Definitely expecting casualties.

But that's what the Marines do.

Whatever the president

needs us to do is what we do.

What's going on, Bravo?

You guys ready to go?

The Taliban have their fist

in the mix here.

Trust me, this is going to be chaotic.

This plan that we've

rock-drilled over and over...

as soon as you get off the bird,

it's not worth anything.

Every single one of you is going

to have to make 100 decisions

that there is no right answer to.

But guess what.

You have to act.

You have to decide, you have to act.

I've talked to you before

about the gift of aggression.

You're here for a reason.

When the enemy chooses

to face us on a b*ttlefield,

win the direct firefight right now,

overwhelming surgical firepower.

Destroy him immediately.

I guarantee you we will lose Marines.

I guarantee you we will.

Don't let emotions control you.

There's 80,000 civilians in this city.

There's maybe a thousand enemy.

When I go home,

I don't want to feel ashamed

because I'm having problems

sleeping at night

because I'm not sure

that I did the right thing.

What happens over the next five days

will be a cornerstone of your memory

for the rest of your life.

All right, gents, that's all I got.

In Afghanistan, the stage is set

for one of the biggest

allied offensives so far.

U.S. Marines are heading up

a force to att*ck the Taliban.

They are gathering

around the town of Marjah

in Helmand Province,

getting ready to drive off the Taliban

and restore government order.

This is the first major offensive

since President Barack Obama announced

he was sending

a new strategy

for turning back the Taliban.

Afghanistan is not lost.

For several years,

it has moved backwards.

Gradually, the Taliban

has begun to control

additional swaths of territory.

This is a date with destiny.

For the rest of your careers,

you will be known as Marjah Marines.

The Afghan Army

who will be fighting

alongside the Marines.

Don't want to mess with this

guy. I'll tell you that.

We will pursue a m*llitary strategy

that will secure key population sites.

The Marines have effectively cut off

all escape routes out of Marjah.

They're doing everything they can

to let the people of Marjah know

they're coming.

Many families

have already left the city

to avoid being caught

in the crossfire.

Ultimately, our efforts

across Afghanistan

are about changing

the perceptions of people.

I want the Afghan people to understand

America seeks an end to this era

of w*r and suffering.

Marjah is considered

a key test of Obama's strategy.

This is a critical point.

It may be the critical point.

God bless you.

And God bless

the United States of America.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Reports from inside the city suggest

that hundreds

of hard-core insurgents

are bracing for a fight.

Right now,

we're sweeping for some IEDs,

hoping we don't step on anything.

It's a very slow process.

With this many guys,

it could take awhile.

And that's what these IEDs do.

They take us away

from our own game plan.

So, we're having to swab up

our tactics

and kind of play the chess game.

It's not checkers now.

See all those antennas?

That's Building 21.

They're going this way.

That's three.

Three in about the last 10 minutes.

Just keep in mind,

there's a couple guys

at this intersection.

They're walking down that road,

it looks like.

They definitely know we're here now.

They're just walking around,

watching us like we're the zoo.

Trying to maneuver all around us.

Uncomfortable situation.

We know a lot have left the city,

but I'm sure several stayed.

If they pop up, start f*ring,

lay into 'em.

Push up.

Gonna try to get eyes on

this first compound right here.

Let's go, come on!

Hey, Smith, watch your flank.

sh**t his ass!

- Oh, f*ck!

- He's sh*t in the leg!

- Oh, sh*t!

- Come here, come here!

Get down.

Where you hit at?

On my f*cking leg, dude.

Oh, f*cking hit!

Ooh!

What the f*ck?

I got you, boy.

I got you. I got you.

Roger.

Doc Morrison.

Right leg. Arterial bleed.

Heavy red blood.

Where's that coming from?

What do you see?

Started f*ring

from that compound over there.

There was like 8 of them.

They sh*t the rockets

and they were effective,

like, no, sh*t,

like, I was...

Yeah, it's effective.

...get the f*ck away.

Took fire from down here

at this intersection.

They fired that RPG.

It popped around that corner

from that intersection,

fired that RPG.

There was no pangs or claps.

It was all zing, zing.

You need to get down, brother.

We're taking fire from

f*cking three g*dd*mn places.

We'll be all right.

Have we stopped the bleeding yet?

It's been stopped

for a couple minutes now.

'Cause I got to get you

out of here, man.

So, we'll get him f*cking moving.

We need air on that m*therf*cker

right there.

- It's pretty close.

- Yes.

Every time that moped stopped

at the end,

he was dropping guys off

and they ran in there.

That's where they're flooded.

There's at least 10 to 12.

Get a f*cking sh*t off!

The next one you f*cking see!

Do you hear me?

Son of a bitch.

Wow, it's getting close to us.

Why not call in air now?

They may be trying to,

but they're just worried

about collateral damage

and affecting the people,

which you don't want to take out

innocent people,

but, you know,

what's more important...

your Marines

or the guys sh**ting at you?

What do you think the Taliban fighters

are doing now?

Probably low on a*mo.

Kick that leg across.

Swing it!

Yeah, I'm worried about you

getting an infection

in that f*cking sore, dude.

Keep it out of the water.

Jump over there.

Go, go, go, go, go!

Push him.

Help him get up here.

Crawl to the top, hold fast.

Hurry up!

Altogether, I've seen about 40.

Using really good tactics.

They've been f*cking hiding

AK-47s in one spot

then moving them to another.

And when they finish that spot,

they run to another spot

that's actually a good,

good hidden place,

have the AK-47 there,

and they sh**t off the ground,

and they move again,

do the same thing over again.

It's not just one guy spraying

like we're used to.

These guys actually know

what they're doing.

Hey, there's women and children

in the building!

Women and children in the building!

Weapons tight.

We're going in. Let's go.

We need a f*cking a* or something.

- You got 'em.

- A shovel.

Let's get it.

Let's get holes in these walls.

Roger. We're taking contact

from Building 30. Break.

Hey, what did they f*cking hit?

There's just trees blocking it.

That building out there, there's

sporadic fire coming from.

We've got f*cking good eyes

on this cocksucker right here.

I don't like being here.

- Huh?

- I don't like being here.

- In this house?

- Not really.

Why?

It's too f*cking small, close to

a f*cking att*ck position,

perfect range for rockets and mortars,

easy f*cking distance to judge.

So it would be pretty easy to bracket.

I'm sure we won't stay here long.

That's where

they're f*cking dipping from.

He was in there sh**ting potshots

from that cr*ck right there.

Piece of sh*t!

Over, baby.

All right, fall back in real quick.

All right, we're right here.

First, he's gonna f*cking fire

a jab into Building 20.

All right.

That door, I ain't all about

going through it,

because they can f*cking

probably run back and forth.

Not kosher.

So, clear 20 and 21.

And f*cking fire another damn bitch

into the f*cking Building 19.

Because if they have a f*cking

machine g*n right here,

they just k*lled

the f*cking entire platoon.

God damn.

Damn it!

I can't f*cking move in this sh*t.

Covering maneuver.

Haul ass.

Whoa!

Tell 'em we're getting sh*t at

from behind us.

Yeah.

Exact same building.

Go, go, go, go, go, go.

Go, go, go.

Go, m*therf*cker!

Jesus!

Holy f*ck.

Oh, my God!

Dude, you got to drop bombs.

Bombs don't miss.

That's what I'm saying, bro.

What's this gunmanship?

They wouldn't get closer

than 600 meters last year.

These guys are like 150 meters,

if closer.

And they're...

They've got effective fire.

Last year, it was just

straight sporadic.

Never hit anything really.

That's my little boy.

I miss him.

How old is he?

He's 5 months.

I miss him.

I'll be home to him soon.

How much time did you spend with him

before you came here?

About 2 months, 2 or 3 months.

Not too bad.

He's gonna be big

when I get home. I can't wait.

Was that us?

Was that US that sh*t?

What's going on?

What the f*ck?

- What have we got?

- I was pissing!

Tried to hit the medevac bird

with a RPG.

They f*cking missed.

They were sh**ting at the one bird.

They had the medevac

on the ground over there,

and then the other one

was drawing fire.

m*therf*ckers, man.

I'm telling you.

Crazy, crazy.

Taken fire from 25.

What's your direction of movement?

- Ready?

- Yeah.

All right, here we go.

f*ck you, cocksuckers!

We're going to f*cking blow them up.

They're probably like,

"Oh, look at our RPGs."

Imagine how that felt.

Southern Afghanistan,

Operation Moshtarak,

meaning "together,"

moving deeper into Marjah.

As a way to show their joint

control of the operation,

U.S. Commander

Stanley McChrystal

and Afghan general Shir Mohammed Zazi

held a press conference together.

While this is

an Afghan-led operation,

I think it highlights

the special partnership

that we've developed

that I'm very proud of.

And I would ask for the media

to watch the bravery of

Afghan National Security Forces.

We will shift

the emphasis of our mission

to increasing the size

of Afghan security forces,

so that they can eventually

take the lead

in securing their country.

This is not Marine companies

here and Afghan companies here.

This is squad and squad,

platoon and platoon

going out together.

There's a brotherhood there

of great trust

and cooperation between us.

And this isn't fluff, this isn't talk.

I mean, this is the real deal.

The Marines have great respect

for the Afghan Army,

and I think that's reciprocal.

- All right.

- Thank you.

Next question.

Kadir, you've got to be

the first one going in.

To the front!

Right behind the...guy.

There. Go.

Up front. Go.

Hey, to the right, to the right.

Go.

Hey, Rolo!

Get up here!

Little p*ssy ass.

Rolo, kick the door in,

and move out the way,

and they're gonna go in, okay?

Yes, you kick the door and move,

and they're gonna go in.

Go in as soon as he kicks the door.

Go, go!

Get the f*ck in there!

Get the f*ck in there.

Get the f*ck in there.

Watch the corners.

Watch the corners.

Go, go, go, go, go, go.

Let's go.

Come on, let's go.

Hey, let's go.

Get in there.

Go in there.

Kick that bitch.

It's locked.

Get in there.

Get in there.

Is it Clear?

- No good?

- Good.

It's good?

No one in there?

Real good.

No Taliban, okay.

That was a police station,

but you can tell

some other people moved in.

Taliban, Taliban.

Taliban.

Taliban. Taliban.

That's opium.

The Opium ball, which is then

processed into that.

This is about $60,000 U.S.

This is ammonium nitrate,

to make ammonium nitrate aluminum,

which is known as a**l.

It's IED-making material.

It's my understanding that Alpha

and Charlie got minimal contact.

I mean, they've got sporadic stuff,

but it sounds like everybody,

all the fighters kind of stuck

in the center of town.

There's about 250 of them left,

and it seems like

they're all right here.

We're the only show in town

from what I understand.

So we flew in, met some

pretty significant resistance

right up front.

After we landed,

within a couple of hours,

we were att*cked from 360 degrees

while we continued to push up

and seize our little foothold

of the village here.

And we lost an engineer

that was trying to bring up

breaching equipment.

You know, and I'm the one

that Called back

and told him to get the APOBS,

bring it up here.

And somebody, you know...

I can't remember who it was...

somebody was arguing with me

on the radio

about how heavy the fire was,

and I told them I don't care,

get the APOBS up here,

we've got to get into the objective.

And about a half-hour

after the incident,

I found out that doing that, you know,

one of the Marines had been k*lled,

had been sh*t, you know, in the back,

as he was moving out

to get that piece of gear.

We always go into these fights,

we know...

You know, in a fight like this,

I know that I'm gonna lose Marines,

but this guy was doing exactly a task

that I told him we needed to do,

and, you know...

he get k*lled doing it.

So that's...

That was definitely the lowest

point I've had so far.

That...that took me awhile

to reconcile in my head.

And we move on now to Afghanistan

and the massive battle

to clear the Taliban stronghold

of Marjah.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says

the Taliban is being squeezed.

Our hope is clearly

that this is creating

a certain amount of discontent, worry,

turmoil within the organization,

such that it is.

Whoa!

Holy f*ck, that's right there.

Hey, it's in the bazaar.

He's blowing up the bazaar.

Roger.

Okay. Come on.

So they're hitting it short,

which means they're going to be

adjusting on us.

- Yes.

- Keep f*cking down!

Holy f*ck.

There's a bunch of propane tanks

on fire.

The gas station's

about to f*cking blow up.

Get back.

What's he got?

They're trying to close in.

A Taliban spokesman insisted

that insurgents were resisting

and the town remained

under their control.

Better put my gear on.

Can't leave the building

without my gear on.

Or I can, but that wouldn't be very...

My wife wouldn't like that.

What they're saying on the radio,

says that they're trying to move

closer to the base,

to our defense here, so...

We've got to fix our post up,

so they're probably gonna see us

on this roof and start f*ring.

So I'm gonna get down

as quick as possible.

Just we got to roll with the beast.

Needs to be right here.

All right. Come on.

We're gonna link up

with 3rd Platoon first.

All we're gonna do is push north.

Hey, they said they got one

out in the road over there.

They said they can see the line.

Spider drop, baby.

Spider drop.

Boot-camp style.

Show them the wire and stuff

that you see.

Hey, hey, listen up.

Hey.

There's a f*cking IED over there.

It's f*cking huge.

It's huge. I don't know

what the f*ck it is.

It looks like maybe

a 50-pound bag or something.

All right.

Hey. Hey, don't be walking

too close to the wall.

Could be anything in there

but it's big as f*ck

and it's electric and it's

running into the other compound.

Yeah, it looks at least

a 50-pounder,

whatever it could be.

Just keep f*cking eyes on me

till I get back

'cause I got to sweep down there.

'Cause I don't want somebody

popping over with a f*cking g*n

and capping me.

You know what I'm saying?

Yo, get ready to move,

get ready to move.

Back, behind here.

Let's go.

Quickly!

You only got a minute!

Come here.

Mohammad, get over here.

Get down.

Get down against the wall.

Get low.

Hey, listen up, after it goes off,

listen for frag, all right?

So everybody be quiet.

g*dd*mn.

All right. I'm just gonna look

down the alley,

make sure it's all f*cking gone,

all right?

Check.

Let's walk around the corner here.

I've got two guys up there.

Two guys running?

No, they're not running.

They're walking.

Spot it.

See what you've got.

They just went down behind

like a f*cking little berm

or some sh*t.

Is that sh**ting at us?

Whoa!

That's live fire.

Hey, let's go!

Where's the f*cking target at?

Give me a g*dd*mn sh*t at them.

For Christ sakes,

at the f*cking ones you see.

You see a guy out there,

you f*cking hit him.

See the brown?

Show it to him.

Show it to him.

It's 12:00.

Yeah.

One sh**t on top of the roof.

We spotted him.

We're gonna take a long sh*t

and knock him out.

Now copy.

Slow and methodical.

Look at those m*therf*ckers

and hit them.

Bring the other one.

Give me a sh*t at it.

Hey, put your head down, Perry.

You ready?

Go.

We got a hit!

We got confirmation.

Did you volunteer to do this job?

Yes, I did.

Gets a little fun sometimes,

a little crazy others.

- Did you see that?

- Keep eyes on him.

We're going over the wall.

They're going into

this f*cking building.

- John!

- John!

- John!

- Get over the damn wall.

Find out what the guy's waving at.

You think we speak Pashto?

Get the f*ck over here.

He called me a m*therf*cker!

This little son of a bitch!

Come on, hey.

He's 20 years old.

- Is he really 20 years old?

- Yeah.

That's freaky.

He said, "I stay here."

You stay here?

Yeah, it's good.

He can stay here with us.

Tell him we're gonna k*ll

whatever needs to be k*lled.

Tell him we're gonna find the Taliban.

We're gonna k*ll 'em.

Go back there.

Is it safe to walk here?

Is there any more Taliban bombs?

Any there?

Ask him.

No, no, no, no, no!

He says there's nothing.

No mines, no IEDs.

Hey, let's go.

He is the father of these guys.

- He is?

- Yeah.

He's been stuck in the house.

He can't pray.

Right there.

That's mortars.

That did not sound good.

Get inside!

Is there any way we can get eyes up...

So, anything else?

We would just like to rent

this place out for the night.

- For tonight?

- Yep.

No, they'll stay here with us.

They'll be okay to stay here with us.

- For tonight?

- For tonight.

This is good.

We're good?

Give me a mad dash.

Mad dash.

Roger.

All right.

Yeah, they're on the southeast side.

It sounds like it's coming from

the building directly east

of a mosque.

...from across the street.

Hey, George.

I'm gonna pop out.

You just run to the middle of...

Keep your head down.

f*cking death!

Yeah!

In that compound!

My direct front!

I said 600!

Six, zero, zero.

Did they sh**t the sandbag?

I don't think so, sir.

It sure looked like

he sh*t the sandbag to me.

He did.

sn*per.

Most psychologically effective

w*apon on the b*ttlefield,

'cause there's nothing

you can do about it, you know.

Hey, sir, who you got up there?

Koenig and Langdon.

Langdon.

Yeah.

That's him f*ring.

I wanted what direction

they hear this from.

I came up and I turned around

to get my r*fle past me

and as I turned around,

I guess my head was just

a little above the sandbags

and he sh*t,

and he ended up hitting me

directly in the head.

And it cracked me back and I was dazed

and didn't really know

what was going on,

and I just told...

I was like, "I'm hit."

But this is where it hit...

about an inch above my eye.

And this is the mount where it hit.

This is what they say stopped

the round

from actually coming through

the Kevlar.

It hurt like really, really bad.

I thought I was dying.

I thought I'd actually been hit.

So it scared me pretty bad.

Where does Koenig think

it's coming from, do you know?

He said 200 or 300 meters

from the cracks.

Bossman, stay motivated.

Clear the enemy out,

and let the people return.

General McChrystal

and every expert did talks

about counterinsurgency,

you know, that we pretty clearly

understand now

that the key to winning

any fight like this

is to control the population and...

Not control them, but...

I don't want to use

"win hearts and minds,"

but that's basically it,

you know, to get the people

on your side,

and let them understand

that you're here for them.

Afghans believe more of what they see

than what they hear.

This is a struggle for the

support of the Afghan people.

A willingness to operate in ways

that minimize causalities or damage,

even when doing so makes

our task more difficult,

is essential to our credibility.

The hope for NATO...

trying to win support

among the locals.

Civilian deaths in Afghanistan

have put pressure on foreign troops

trying to win the trust

and support from citizens.

I cannot overstate my commitment

to the importance of this concept.

There we go.

We've done this before.

We do have three individuals KIA

in the field.

- Nice.

- Three.

We got three.

Three guys dead.

Building Number 29.

The general's got to have his feed.

That's what...

And north, 1,800 meters.

Egress, right pulls into the overhead,

advise ready for final remarks.

Line 8, 1,800 meters northwest.

That is northwest, 1,800 meters.

We got everything we need?

Roger, that is confirmed.

That is your target.

We are waiting approval.

We're trying to get f*cking clearance.

We've been watching them

for 30 minutes prior to this.

Where's... Where's 6?

A firm hawk hold for now.

Abort for now.

f*ck.

Could have gone off in the smoke,

but we didn't definitely see it.

Did they miss? Huh?

Gunny and I will be in the rear

with our headquarters.

Give you EOD.

All right.

There's a nice sturdy wall here

we'll follow down.

There's a little trench here,

set up right here,

and this is where we were at.

- Right.

- Good?

I'm good, sir.

Any questions?

Rios?

You know what your job is?

How many...

Are bringing all three?

Empty, empty.

Leave it, leave it.

Same sh*t you did last night, man.

You're fine.

Leave it.

Just leave it.

You're pointing at people.

Leave it.

You're good.

Step time.

Is your boys ready, chart ready?

Yeah, we're ready.

Roger.

Be advised.

There is mass movements

around Buildings 29 and 15.

Copy?

Let's go!

Now get it.

Go, go!

Get in.

Go in that building.

So we need to get in there

and clear this building out.

Come on, let's go.

Let's go.

Look.

Over there.

I need three people up here for me.

They're on the back side

of that building somewhere.

Keep eyes in case they start

egressing to the west.

There they are!

There they are!

...the corner!

Hey, let's use them g*dd*mn RPGs

right f*cking here, dude.

Hey, 240 gunner needs to scoot

up to the edge of the wall.

You're on target,

but scoot the f*ck up!

I hit that front guy.

He's f*cking dead!

That's what I like to hear, baby!

I hit that guy

right in the f*cking head.

f*ck, yeah.

That was intense.

Man, those f*cking assholes

were using those kids

and women as cover

to get out of there.

Horse sh*t, man!

Give me a 203.

Come here.

Here's what I want you to hit.

See those three trees right there?

Those big ones?

- You see those big tall ones?

- Yeah.

Just right on the other side

of that building,

I want you to pepper them.

Range is 300.

The next sh*t

that comes from Building 7,

you're gonna whip it through

that f*cking right window.

Do you understand?

That's the one

that's been sh**ting at us.

All from the Porkchop.

Holy f*ck!

Holy sh*t!

You got some ass.

Solid copy.

Again, were in Building 4

and pretty sure that 3 took contact

from either Building 10 or 11.

It was right on top of us.

Yeah, victory is achieved.

Okay. Spread out.

The eggs made it, yeah?

That's pretty impressive.

The eggs survived.

The eggs survive

and everything else goes.

Look out.

Look at our position from here.

That roof right there

is where we ambushed them.

That's the roof you guys were on?

Yep.

I was behind that little

triangle thing, standing up.

- Oh, yeah?

- Yeah.

As you can see from here,

it's a perfect position.

It totally isolates

the entire rest of the town.

They had nowhere to go.

We had them completely trapped.

You weren't that far, then.

These b*tches didn't have a chance.

NO.

And they had no idea we were up there.

- No, they didn't.

- No.

Huge moral victory for the company.

Oh, my gosh!

Those didn't work,

did they, m*therf*cker?

- Yeah.

- Oh, yeah.

He d*ed right where he was laying.

He had his hand...

Rigor mortis had set in

around his... around the r*fle,

so he was still gripping it.

I think

it's a 8-millimeter Mauser.

What are you gonna do with him?

- What, him?

- Yeah.

I don't believe we're gonna do

anything with him.

We're gonna just leave him there.

They say he was not Taliban,

but they force him to keep him there.

The Taliban force him,

give them g*n to...

This is it.

We roughly knew where he was.

Perfect sn*per position.

Look.

Look at our post.

Roger, COC, I believe we've identified

the sn*per position. Break.

There's a vertical loophole

in the wall here. Break.

It has perfect side alignment

for the post

where the sn*pers were hit.

Break.

And we found 17 556 rounds.

Copy.

He sh*t from right about

where you're at.

And was one of

your men sh*t from here?

Three of them, actually.

Or four.

Three medevacs, for sure.

So he was probably sitting back

in the room in the shadow

where we couldn't see indication

of his w*apon at all.

sh**ting through the slit in the wall.

Perfect angle.

To know that he has to be

far enough back

so that his muzzle flash isn't seen,

and, certainly, to engage targets,

you know, he was hitting them

in the chest

and in the head from back here,

so he was probably

well-trained m*llitary.

- Absolutely.

- Yep.

What m*llitary would have trained him?

Possibly ours, at some point.

Probably using a w*apon

that we supplied them

in some way or other.

But good to know we found

his spot and we own it now.

We're burning daylight.

This is done.

Yeah.

All right.

- Are we ready?

- Yeah.

All right, let's go.

Let's continue the game.

They're all wired in

with electrical wire,

daisy-chained to make them

simultaneously detonate.

Actually, the most complex one

I've done in country so far.

The intention was to catch

a hole to all of them at once

in the alleyway.

This is probably 150 meters.

Yeah, these are probably

the best-looking ordnance

I've seen in this country.

It's heavy metal.

The det cord goes off

and pushes everything out...

out the front of it.

It just works like a big cannon

with a bunch of crap stuffed in it.

Ooh, nice!

It's a bit like swimming in the ocean.

You'd never do it

if you knew how many sharks

there really were.

That's the money sh*t.

Down!

Take cover!

We would have been k*lled already.

Get in there!

Go, go. Stay here.

Sit.

Sit the f*ck down.

Sit down.

Sit.

- Sit.

- Sit.

Sit down.

You sit down.

Sit down!

Sit down.

No, no, no.

There you go.

There you go.

Yeah. There you go.

See it?

Pretty much a cylinder with expl*sives

and a whole bunch of nasty frag

that they stick in it.

It's pretty much pointed

right at you right now.

Gonna try and burn this one out.

There.

A general says

U.S.-led forces control

the roads and markets

in the Taliban stronghold.

A battle going well.

Taliban finished.

Taliban go.

The next part is to hold

the area that we have.

Once we push the enemy out,

we have to hold security here

and allow the people

to start to move back in

and resume their daily lives.

And then from there, we have to...

You know, we build on,

you know, what we've established.

We help them, you know,

open their schools back up

and open their bazaars back up

and establish police stations

and the local government

and, you know,

allow the local government

to start, you know, building

their projects as well.

So that, you know,

in the grand scheme,

that's kind of how

counterinsurgency works.

Gentlemen, thank you all for coming.

My name's Captain Ryan Sparks.

We're very happy.

It's a great day that we can...

You know, the Taliban are gone

and we can finally start

to open your bazaar back up.

Get all of your stores repaired,

fix anything that's broken

so that you can start your life

again as soon as possible.

Hey, first store open, baby!

The Taliban will eventually lose

their freedom of movement,

they'll become irrelevant,

and they'll just dissipate.

They'll become irrelevant.

We're gonna move back

to the marketplace

and beef up security

and help out. Copy.

Clear copy. When you get here,

we'll work through the details.

Over.

Any of you guys seen Maclean?

You here for this meeting?

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right.

You got the civil affairs guy?

I got Gunny "D."

Burwa. Yeah.

- Yeah, is he here?

- No. He didn't come with us.

'Cause he's the guy who's

actually handling the payment.

Okay.

So 17 total.

There were 17 people in the house

and four were k*lled.

- Four?

- Four were k*lled, yeah.

We're going to talk to the guy.

Right.

You're looking at the definition

of innocent people.

There's no question about it.

You know, little girls.

I mean, there's just no way

to rationalize

that this was in any way

a good thing or justified.

It's just...

It's just a terrible feeling

and a terrible sight.

I was waiting for you to call me

to come out

and to take me to a safe place

I don't know what happened.

Somebody fired...

Something happened.

One family is almost finished.

There's only one child left,

and the other family got two injured.

There are four deceased.

Check.

Tell him I'm very sorry,

and I can feel his pain.

I know what he's going through.

We're really sorry

for what happened yesterday.

It pains us all here

to know what you must be

going through right now

with the loss that you just suffered.

There's not...

There's nothing we can do

to bring back your loss.

What we can do is try to help you out

by giving you

the very least that we can

with a payment for your losses.

So...

...what I'll do now

is I'll present him

with the condolence payment.

And, like I said,

it's the absolute least that we can do

because, obviously, there's...

You can't bring back someone you love.

Again, I'm deeply sorry.

Yalma, this is for you,

for your losses.

You know, the U.S. Marines,

the citizens of Afghanistan,

and the government of Afghanistan

together can achieve great things

to make Afghanistan a safer and

more prosperous place for all.

I've been told this by Afghans before.

"I don't mind Marines.

I don't mind Taliban.

I just want everyone to leave me

alone and lead my...

I want to lead my life," you know.

And I think

there's something to be said

for that point of view.

And, certainly,

if you've lost family members,

I couldn't stand in front of you

and tell you otherwise,

and that's...

it's not really my place.

I don't know.

If I was in his shoes...

It's almost like there's

two entirely different levels.

There's the political level,

and then there's the level

on the ground.

I'm not quite sure I've entirely

reconciled them for myself

right now.

I don't know.

Yeah. Here we go.

So NATO has staked a

lot on this operation in Marjah.

How is it defining success?

This whole Marjah offensive

is all about bringing governance,

as General McChrystal has said,

"government in a box."

Bring in what they're calling

"government in a box"

and show the locals that

the central Afghan government

can try to take over operations.

We need more troops,

training, and assistance,

and that's why we are increasing

our efforts

to train Afghan security forces.

It is slower and harder

than we anticipated.

I do not want to underestimate

or understate the challenge.

Very important test case

to find out if the new

U.S. strategy will work.

We refurbished the whole mosque,

put their fancy minarets up there.

And you've got to see Gunny "D" Park,

which is what they call it.

We keep trying to change

the name. They won't let us.

We're trying to get it

to "Freedom Park."

But they redid this whole...

All the walls on the outside

of this mosque.

Yeah, here's the park.

We're pretty proud of this right here.

As you can tell, the benches are

a little slanted right there,

but we're working on that.

Because these people

aren't used to benches here,

so...

Assalamu alaikum.

'Cause we're trying to create

a little local economy here

around the bazaar,

that eventually it becomes

self-sufficient.

So we start out with,

you know, cash for work

and quick-impact projects

to get the bazaar clean

and to get it functioning again.

And then that injects money

into the bazaar.

That's kind of the overall plan.

Working good so far.

He was the guy that was f*cking

telling all the rest of them

What to do.

Our exit strategy.

This turns into the police,

then we go to the next village,

turn it into the police,

and then we go home.

Is he currently in good health?

Yes.

The reality is is that six months ago,

I'm sure some of these guys

were Taliban.

We'll see what happens.

Holy crap!

- Holy sh*t.

- f*cking r*fle.

Barely missed!

I'd say that just barely missed, huh?

That whistled past.

Definitely the most difficult

tour I've done.

And...

You know,

in order for me to do my job,

I have to have some loyalty and faith.

But the Taliban are still here

and we still are taking casualties,

you know, every couple of days...

Well, not every couple of days.

Once a week, once every two weeks,

you know, somebody gets sh*t

in the arm or sh*t in the leg

or, you know...

So it's...it wears on you.

And it wears on the Marines.

These people, I don't...

They're not like Americans how...

There's no way you can trust them.

They let the Taliban b*at them.

But if it comes to one of us

saying the wrong phrase

or anything to these people,

they just lose their lid,

you know, 'cause we're Americans

and "that Taliban was from

the same tribe as me," you know.

It's ridiculous.

It's a mind f*ck.

It's frustrating,

and that's a losing ballgame.

You know, Marines don't fight wars.

Marines fight battles.

And I think, you know,

Marjah is an example of that.

You know, the w*r on terror

or whatever happens here,

you know, in the next months,

in the next year,

whatever this place was like

before we got here,

whatever impact we had here,

we had our operation order

and we fought the battle.

And the other stuff,

I think, will drive you crazy.

We are pressing forward

in Afghanistan...

...from Marjah to Kandahar.

So make no mistake.

We have a clear goal.

This is the area that we stopped

trying to control out that way.

It kind of...

Our area of control fades a little bit

as soon as you get about a click

away from here.

It gradually gets worse.

But this is the edge

of where we're really actively

trying to secure the area.

Literally right there, that road.

This is probably one of

the most hostile places

in Afghanistan still.

Might as well be a different country.

Yep.
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