McChrystal Wants Unified Civilian-Military Effort in New Helmand Campaign

With U.S. and Afghan forces about to attempt to take the Afghan village of Marja in Helmand province away from the Taliban, Gen. Stanley McChrystal records this message about how — speaking mostly generically — he wants to show the Afghan people that the Afghan government is about to come into the area and offer them a better alternative. That requires a fully integrated civilian/military effort, he says:

The Marine campaign in Helmand, waged for much of last year, has been of questionable significance for a broader counterinsurgency strategy of population protection.