The next major phase of the drawdown of Marine forces in Afghanistan is nearly complete. Thousands of Marines have returned from Helmand province in the last few weeks, leaving behind a smaller force that is focused primarily on partnered security force assistance with Afghan National Security Forces, rather than offensive operations. Marine officials declined to say how many Marines remain, but have acknowledged previously that there could be as few as 7,000 by October. The overall number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan this fall is expected to drop to 68,000, the approximate same number as when President Obama ordered a…
Browsing: David Berger
We trust you’ve been reading — and enjoying — senior staff writer Dan Lamothe’s numerous dispatches from Afghanistan, where he and photographer James Lee are embedded presently with members of 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. Thanks so much for your continued interest in their work. Today, over on Marine Corps Times’ home page, we’ve rolled out Lamothe’s first hard-news report from this trip to the war zone. It details aggressive efforts to curtail the flow of stored poppy out of Afghanistan ahead of the spring harvest, now just weeks away. Before shipping out last week to…
