WASHINGTON \u2014 Helmand valley, Afghanistan, has been pummeled, as of late, by U.S. air and artillery strikes targeting Taliban battlefield commanders and opium production facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ramp up of operations in the sparsely populated region is a bit of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu for U.S. forces. Not too long ago Helmand was the primary focus of the then-commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, and the Obama administration\u2019s troop surge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past several weeks, Helmand has once again taken the spotlight, this time as part of the Trump administration\u2019s new South Asia strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nine of 14 districts are controlled by the Taliban, according to a government watchdog group, and record opium production continues to fill Taliban coffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Afghan troop surge and rapid drawdown under the Obama administration has received its fair share of criticism, notably the decision to focus much of America\u2019s combat power in one of the most sparsely populated regions of Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thousands of U.S. Marines had deployed to the poppy infested agricultural heartland, fighting a brutal counterinsurgency among small farming communities sprawling along the meandering Helmand River. Hundreds of U.S. and coalition forces gave their lives in the region, where cost of their sacrifice has only secured a handful of districts today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taliban narcotics facilities in Helmand have renewed interest in the province. U.S. forces have deployed High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, U.S.-B-52s, aircraft carrier based F\/A-18 Super Hornets, and even an F-22 Raptor against drug labs, destroying millions in potential Taliban revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision to deploy a high-tech stealth jet to destroy a drug lab is a peculiar choice, though U.S. officials contend the platform was chosen because of its ability to employ the small diameter bomb, which can limit collateral damage and potential civilian casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. forces have also renewed a focus on removing Taliban commanders on the battlefield. On Dec. 1, U.S. forces killed the commander of Taliban\u2019s infamous elite Red Unit, Mullah Shah Wali, or Haji Nasir, in Helmand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And a small detachment of nearly 300 Marines in Task Force Southwest has also beefed up security in Helmand with HIMARS. Task Force Southwest has tasked with training and advising Afghan forces in Helmand. The unit has been there since late spring, the first deployment of Marines there since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, the focus on Helmand seems to be a strange choice by Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, whose strategy rests on Afghan government controlling 80 percent of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of the contested territory between Afghan and Taliban forces is in areas where opium is grown, Nicholson told reporters at a televised Pentagon press briefing in November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s about 13 drug trafficking organizations in Afghanistan, seven of them connected to the Taliban in Helmand alone,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so, we are striking those specific organizations that are linked to the Taliban, Taliban cartels if you will, that now provide the majority of their revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strategy in Helmand also relies on Afghan forces being able to maintain some semblance of control in the province as they retake territory back from the Taliban.<\/p>\n\n\n\t