Marine commander wants more Afghan troops

CNN:

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"I'm not going to sugarcoat it. The fact of the matter is we don't have enough Afghan forces. And I'd like more," said Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Helmand province.

Nicholson briefed reporters at the Pentagon by phone from Afghanistan.

Called Operation Khanjar, the push against the Taliban started Thursday with 4,000 American troops, mostly U.S. Marines, and around 650 Afghan forces.

"I'd like to have every Marine battalion partnered with an Afghan battalion," Nicholson said.

"Imagine if I had 4,000 Marines with 4,000 Afghan forces. I mean, it would ... not even be comparable to ... the relative success that we've had over these first seven days."

Nicholson added that police units aren't as well trained as he would like and he plans to work to improve the quality of those forces, including the opening of a police academy.

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Nicholson said the Taliban in large part fled the area and have left "significant weapons caches" that include bomb components.

"I think the Taliban is used to people coming maybe through the area, not staying very long," he said. The military will watch "how they react to the fact that we are staying in large numbers in many of these small towns and areas, that we're going to be here to help the government get on its feet, get its sea legs and that we're going to help support the election."

Strides have been made, Nicholson said, citing the capture of Khan Neshin, the province's southernmost city. He said it fell to the light armored reconnaissance battalion "literally without a fight."

"There were some shots fired by the enemy; none fired by us," he said.

"There's a castle down there, and the origins of the castle date into the 18th century. But there's a castle down there where today the governor of Helmand province, for the first time ever, visited. And he raised a flag," an event that Nicholson called an Iwo Jima moment.

Nicholson also addressed reports that Marines don't have enough water at the end of the logistics line.

"I know that the No. 1 threat to us right now is the heat," he said. "We've got helicopters day and night pushing all manner of logistics, but especially pallets of water to the Marines. ... I am more than confident that we're getting the amount of water they need in a timely manner. No one is going without water."

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Fox News reports that he would like more US troops too. One of the problems commanders face is the restrictions on the number of troops creates an inadequate force to space ration, that will eventually drive up casualties on both sides. But as the comments about the water supply indicate that additional troops will also create logistic problems in keeping them supplied.

If the US is struggling to get enough water to the troops, then al Qaeda and the Taliban are probably having even more difficulty. That is a good reason for their retreat also.