Marjah's 'Government in a Box' Flops as McChrystal Fumes

The plan was to overwhelm the Taliban stronghhold with coalition forces -- and then instantly install a new civilian infrastructure in the town of Marjah. "We’ve got a government in a box, ready to roll in," said top commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

The reality has been different. A new governor has been installed. Construction projects have begun. "By day there is government," one tribal leader tells McClatchy's Don Nissenbaum. "By night it's the Taliban."

Marines are running into more firefights on their patrols. Taliban insurgents threaten and kill residents who cooperate with the Americans, and it will be months before a permanent police force is ready to take control of the streets from the temporary force that's brought some stability to Marjah.

The U.S.-backed Marjah governor, Marine officials said, has five top ministers. Eight of 81 certified teachers are on the job, and 350 of an estimated 10,000 students are going to school.

"How many days do you think we have before we run out of support by the international community?" McChrystal asks. "I'm telling you... We don't have as many days as we'd like."

Maybe the mistake was moving too quickly, or expecting too much, too soon. The Taliban can't just be dispersed with a single blow. In another one of Helmand province's former militant havens, the marines there fought daily gun battles for months and months before they were able to impose some semblance of order. Only now is the government really starting unfold out of the box.

[Photo: U.S. Army]

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