Residents of this onetime Taliban sanctuary see signs that the insurgents have regained momentum in recent weeks, despite early claims of success by U.S. Marines. The longer-than-expected effort to secure Marja is prompting alarm among top American commanders that they will not be able to change the course of the war in the time President Obama has given them.
Firefights between insurgents and security forces occur daily, resulting in more Marine fatalities and casualties over the past month than in the first month of the operation, which began in mid-February.
Marines and Afghan troops have made headway in this farming community, but every step forward, it seems, has been matched by at least a half-step backward.
There's a long, bloody fight ahead for the residents of Marjah.
By: Brant
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