Surge and Destroy

... About 3,000 British, Danish, Estonian and Afghan soldiers from Task Force Helmand are taking part in the operation north of Lashkar Gah while 4,000 men from the US-led Task Force Leatherneck are conducting Operation Khanjar -- Strike of the Sword -- around the Garmsir and Nawa districts. The arrival of US Marines -- part of an American surge that will involve pouring 17,000 US troops into southern Afghanistan -- has relieved some of the pressure. The British have given up control of the bulk of the province to the Americans and are now responsible mainly for the central area around the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, though some forces are also still in the north.

It's all part of a strategic change. In future, American and British troops will be expected to hold their ground, providing security for local people while denying the insurgents access to vital supplies, funding and recruits.

"You don't really need to chase and kill the Taliban," said General Stanley McChrystal, the former special forces chief and newly appointed US commander of all allied troops in Afghanistan. "What you need to do is take away the one thing they absolutely have to have -- and that's access and the support of the people."

... In a spectacular show of force, contrasting strongly with the British lack of equipment, heavily armed Marines, backed up by drones and fighter jets, stormed into the south of Afghanistan's most dangerous province shortly after midnight on Wednesday. It was the biggest operation in Afghanistan since the Soviet occupation, and the largest American assault since the Battle for Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.

The Marines' mission is to secure the villages along a stretch of river more than 55 miles long in the heart of poppy-growing territory. They also hope to choke the Taliban supply lines used to ferry guns, drugs and fighters in and out of Pakistan...

More at The Times.