That didn’t take long…

The 3500 Marines sent to Afghanistan last month are already having a big impact:

US Marines supported by British troops in Afghanistan now command three key locations south of the town of Garmsir, in Helmand province, putting pressure on the main supply routes of the Taleban for arms, opium and reinforcements.

For the first time since the Nato campaign expanded to the south in 2006 the Taleban stranglehold in this part of Helmand – stretching from the Pakistan border to Garmsir – has been weakened.
…
Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, the British commander of Task Force Helmand, told The Times: “This operation has severely dislocated Taleban control of an area in which they have traditionally enjoyed considerable autonomy.”

I had wished that NATO could handle the situation without US assistance: we could use stronger allies in this rapidly changing world. But it’s comforting to hear how effective our own forces are.

I just hope this starts putting some pressure on the Taliban in Pakistan.