I'm part of a machine
that always wins.
There's no worse enemy
than the United States Marine.
Um...
you know, we're...
we're masters of
controlled chaos and violence.
You know, there's definitely
scary parts of that plan.
Marjah is such a difficult
piece of ground,
hundreds and hundreds of Taliban here,
and not only Taliban
but kind of
the hard-core extremists,
best-trained guys they've got.
IEDs everywhere,
triple possible,
you know, anti-aircraft guns.
Definitely expecting casualties.
But that's what the Marines do.
Whatever the president
needs us to do is what we do.
What's going on, Bravo?
You guys ready to go?
The Taliban have their fist
in the mix here.
Trust me, this is going to be chaotic.
This plan that we've
rock-drilled over and over...
as soon as you get off the bird,
it's not worth anything.
Every single one of you is going
to have to make 100 decisions
that there is no right answer to.
But guess what.
You have to act.
You have to decide, you have to act.
I've talked to you before
about the gift of aggression.
You're here for a reason.
When the enemy chooses
to face us on a battlefield,
win the direct firefight right now,
overwhelming surgical firepower.
Destroy him immediately.
I guarantee you we will lose Marines.
I guarantee you we will.
Don't let emotions control you.
There's 80,000 civilians in this city.
There's maybe a thousand enemy.
When I go home,
I don't want to feel ashamed
because I'm having problems
sleeping at night
because I'm not sure
that I did the right thing.
What happens over the next five days
will be a cornerstone of your memory
for the rest of your life.
All right, gents, that's all I got.
In Afghanistan, the stage is set
for one of the biggest
allied offensives so far.
U.S. Marines are heading up
a force to attack the Taliban.
They are gathering
around the town of Marjah
in Helmand Province,
getting ready to drive off the Taliban
and restore government order.
This is the first major offensive
since President Barack Obama announced
he was sending
a new strategy
for turning back the Taliban.
Afghanistan is not lost.
For several years,
it has moved backwards.
Gradually, the Taliban
has begun to control
additional swaths of territory.
This is a date with destiny.
For the rest of your careers,
you will be known as Marjah Marines.
The Afghan Army
who will be fighting
alongside the Marines.
Don't want to mess with this
guy. I'll tell you that.
We will pursue a military strategy
that will secure key population sites.
The Marines have effectively cut off
all escape routes out of Marjah.
They're doing everything they can
to let the people of Marjah know
they're coming.
Many families
have already left the city
to avoid being caught
in the crossfire.
Ultimately, our efforts
across Afghanistan
are about changing
the perceptions of people.
I want the Afghan people to understand
America seeks an end to this era
of war and suffering.
Marjah is considered
a key test of Obama's strategy.
This is a critical point.
It may be the critical point.
God bless you.
And God bless
the United States of America.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Reports from inside the city suggest
that hundreds
of hard-core insurgents
are bracing for a fight.
Right now,
we're sweeping for some IEDs,
hoping we don't step on anything.
It's a very slow process.
With this many guys,
it could take awhile.
And that's what these IEDs do.
They take us away
from our own game plan.
So, we're having to swab up
our tactics
and kind of play the chess game.
It's not checkers now.
See all those antennas?
That's Building 21.
They're going this way.
That's three.
Three in about the last 10 minutes.
Just keep in mind,
there's a couple guys
at this intersection.
They're walking down that road,
it looks like.
They definitely know we're here now.
They're just walking around,
watching us like we're the zoo.
Trying to maneuver all around us.
Uncomfortable situation.
We know a lot have left the city,
but I'm sure several stayed.
If they pop up, start firing,
lay into 'em.
Push up.
Gonna try to get eyes on
this first compound right here.
Let's go, come on!
Hey, Smith, watch your flank.
Shoot his ass!
- Oh, fuck!
- He's shot in the leg!
- Oh, shit!
- Come here, come here!
Get down.
Where you hit at?
On my fucking leg, dude.
Oh, fucking hit!
Ooh!
What the fuck?
I got you, boy.
I got you. I got you.
Roger.
Doc Morrison.
Right leg. Arterial bleed.
Heavy red blood.
Where's that coming from?
What do you see?
Started firing
from that compound over there.
There was like 8 of them.
They shot the rockets
and they were effective,
like, no, shit,
like, I was...
Yeah, it's effective.
...get the fuck away.
Took fire from down here
at this intersection.
They fired that RPG.
It popped around that corner
from that intersection,
fired that RPG.
There was no pangs or claps.
It was all zing, zing.
You need to get down, brother.
We're taking fire from
fucking three goddamn places.
We'll be all right.
Have we stopped the bleeding yet?
It's been stopped
for a couple minutes now.
'Cause I got to get you
out of here, man.
So, we'll get him fucking moving.
We need air on that motherfucker
right there.
- It's pretty close.
- Yes.
Every time that moped stopped
at the end,
he was dropping guys off
and they ran in there.
That's where they're flooded.
There's at least 10 to 12.
Get a fucking shot off!
The next one you fucking see!
Do you hear me?
Son of a bitch.
Wow, it's getting close to us.
Why not call in air now?
They may be trying to,
but they're just worried
about collateral damage
and affecting the people,
which you don't want to take out
innocent people,
but, you know,
what's more important...
your Marines
or the guys shooting at you?
What do you think the Taliban fighters
are doing now?
Probably low on ammo.
Kick that leg across.
Swing it!
Yeah, I'm worried about you
getting an infection
in that fucking sore, dude.
Keep it out of the water.
Jump over there.
Go, go, go, go, go!
Push him.
Help him get up here.
Crawl to the top, hold fast.
Hurry up!
Altogether, I've seen about 40.
Using really good tactics.
They've been fucking hiding
AK-47s in one spot
then moving them to another.
And when they finish that spot,
they run to another spot
that's actually a good,
good hidden place,
have the AK-47 there,
and they shoot off the ground,
and they move again,
do the same thing over again.
It's not just one guy spraying
like we're used to.
These guys actually know
what they're doing.
Hey, there's women and children
in the building!
Women and children in the building!
Weapons tight.
We're going in. Let's go.
We need a fucking ax or something.
- You got 'em.
- A shovel.
Let's get it.
Let's get holes in these walls.
Roger. We're taking contact
from Building 30. Break.
Hey, what did they fucking hit?
There's just trees blocking it.
That building out there, there's
sporadic fire coming from.
We've got fucking good eyes
on this cocksucker right here.
I don't like being here.
- Huh?
- I don't like being here.
- In this house?
- Not really.
Why?
It's too fucking small, close to
a fucking attack position,
perfect range for rockets and mortars,
easy fucking distance to judge.
So it would be pretty easy to bracket.
I'm sure we won't stay here long.
That's where
they're fucking dipping from.
He was in there shooting potshots
from that crack right there.
Piece of shit!
Over, baby.
All right, fall back in real quick.
All right, we're right here.
First, he's gonna fucking fire
a jab into Building 20.
All right.
That door, I ain't all about
going through it,
because they can fucking
probably run back and forth.
Not kosher.
So, clear 20 and 21.
And fucking fire another damn bitch
into the fucking Building 19.
Because if they have a fucking
machine gun right here,
they just killed
the fucking entire platoon.
God damn.
Damn it!
I can't fucking move in this shit.
Covering maneuver.
Haul ass.
Whoa!
Tell 'em we're getting shot at
from behind us.
Yeah.
Exact same building.
Go, go, go, go, go, go.
Go, go, go.
Go, motherfucker!
Jesus!
Holy fuck.
Oh, my God!
Dude, you got to drop bombs.
Bombs don't miss.
That's what I'm saying, bro.
What's this gunmanship?
They wouldn't get closer
than 600 meters last year.
These guys are like 150 meters,
if closer.
And they're...
They've got effective fire.
Last year, it was just
straight sporadic.
Never hit anything really.
That's my little boy.
I miss him.
How old is he?
He's 5 months.
I miss him.
I'll be home to him soon.
How much time did you spend with him
before you came here?
About 2 months, 2 or 3 months.
Not too bad.
He's gonna be big
when I get home. I can't wait.
Was that us?
Was that US that shot?
What's going on?
What the fuck?
- What have we got?
- I was pissing!
Tried to hit the medevac bird
with a RPG.
They fucking missed.
They were shooting at the one bird.
They had the medevac
on the ground over there,
and then the other one
was drawing fire.
Motherfuckers, man.
I'm telling you.
Crazy, crazy.
Taken fire from 25.
What's your direction of movement?
- Ready?
- Yeah.
All right, here we go.
Fuck you, cocksuckers!
We're going to fucking blow them up.
They're probably like,
"Oh, look at our RPGs."
Imagine how that felt.
Southern Afghanistan,
Operation Moshtarak,
meaning "together,"
moving deeper into Marjah.
As a way to show their joint
control of the operation,
U.S. Commander
Stanley McChrystal
and Afghan general Shir Mohammed Zazi
held a press conference together.
While this is
an Afghan-led operation,
I think it highlights
the special partnership
that we've developed
that I'm very proud of.
And I would ask for the media
to watch the bravery of
Afghan National Security Forces.
We will shift
the emphasis of our mission
to increasing the size
of Afghan security forces,
so that they can eventually
take the lead
in securing their country.
This is not Marine companies
here and Afghan companies here.
This is squad and squad,
platoon and platoon
going out together.
There's a brotherhood there
of great trust
and cooperation between us.
And this isn't fluff, this isn't talk.
I mean, this is the real deal.
The Marines have great respect
for the Afghan Army,
and I think that's reciprocal.
- All right.
- Thank you.
Next question.
Kadir, you've got to be
the first one going in.
To the front!
Right behind the...guy.
There. Go.
Up front. Go.
Hey, to the right, to the right.
Go.
Hey, Rolo!
Get up here!
Little pussy ass.
Rolo, kick the door in,
and move out the way,
and they're gonna go in, okay?
Yes, you kick the door and move,
and they're gonna go in.
Go in as soon as he kicks the door.
Go, go!
Get the fuck in there!
Get the fuck in there.
Get the fuck in there.
Watch the corners.
Watch the corners.
Go, go, go, go, go, go.
Let's go.
Come on, let's go.
Hey, let's go.
Get in there.
Go in there.
Kick that bitch.
It's locked.
Get in there.
Get in there.
Is it Clear?
- No good?
- Good.
It's good?
No one in there?
Real good.
No Taliban, okay.
That was a police station,
but you can tell
some other people moved in.
Taliban, Taliban.
Taliban.
Taliban. Taliban.
That's opium.
The Opium ball, which is then
processed into that.
This is about $60,000 U.S.
This is ammonium nitrate,
to make ammonium nitrate aluminum,
which is known as ANAL.
It's IED-making material.
It's my understanding that Alpha
and Charlie got minimal contact.
I mean, they've got sporadic stuff,
but it sounds like everybody,
all the fighters kind of stuck
in the center of town.
There's about 250 of them left,
and it seems like
they're all right here.
We're the only show in town
from what I understand.
So we flew in, met some
pretty significant resistance
right up front.
After we landed,
within a couple of hours,
we were attacked from 360 degrees
while we continued to push up
and seize our little foothold
of the village here.
And we lost an engineer
that was trying to bring up
breaching equipment.
You know, and I'm the one
that Called back
and told him to get the APOBS,
bring it up here.
And somebody, you know...
I can't remember who it was...
somebody was arguing with me
on the radio
about how heavy the fire was,
and I told them I don't care,
get the APOBS up here,
we've got to get into the objective.
And about a half-hour
after the incident,
I found out that doing that, you know,
one of the Marines had been killed,
had been shot, you know, in the back,
as he was moving out
to get that piece of gear.
We always go into these fights,
we know...
You know, in a fight like this,
I know that I'm gonna lose Marines,
but this guy was doing exactly a task
that I told him we needed to do,
and, you know...
he get killed doing it.
So that's...
That was definitely the lowest
point I've had so far.
That...that took me awhile
to reconcile in my head.
And we move on now to Afghanistan
and the massive battle
to clear the Taliban stronghold
of Marjah.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says
the Taliban is being squeezed.
Our hope is clearly
that this is creating
a certain amount of discontent, worry,
turmoil within the organization,
such that it is.
Whoa!
Holy fuck, that's right there.
Hey, it's in the bazaar.
He's blowing up the bazaar.
Roger.
Okay. Come on.
So they're hitting it short,
which means they're going to be
adjusting on us.
- Yes.
- Keep fucking down!
Holy fuck.
There's a bunch of propane tanks
on fire.
The gas station's
about to fucking blow up.
Get back.
What's he got?
They're trying to close in.
A Taliban spokesman insisted
that insurgents were resisting
and the town remained
under their control.
Better put my gear on.
Can't leave the building
without my gear on.
Or I can, but that wouldn't be very...
My wife wouldn't like that.
What they're saying on the radio,
says that they're trying to move
closer to the base,
to our defense here, so...
We've got to fix our post up,
so they're probably gonna see us
on this roof and start firing.
So I'm gonna get down
as quick as possible.
Just we got to roll with the beast.
Needs to be right here.
All right. Come on.
We're gonna link up
with 3rd Platoon first.
All we're gonna do is push north.
Hey, they said they got one
out in the road over there.
They said they can see the line.
Spider drop, baby.
Spider drop.
Boot-camp style.
Show them the wire and stuff
that you see.
Hey, hey, listen up.
Hey.
There's a fucking IED over there.
It's fucking huge.
It's huge. I don't know
what the fuck it is.
It looks like maybe
a 50-pound bag or something.
All right.
Hey. Hey, don't be walking
too close to the wall.
Could be anything in there
but it's big as fuck
and it's electric and it's
running into the other compound.
Yeah, it looks at least
a 50-pounder,
whatever it could be.
Just keep fucking eyes on me
till I get back
'cause I got to sweep down there.
'Cause I don't want somebody
popping over with a fucking gun
and capping me.
You know what I'm saying?
Yo, get ready to move,
get ready to move.
Back, behind here.
Let's go.
Quickly!
You only got a minute!
Come here.
Mohammad, get over here.
Get down.
Get down against the wall.
Get low.
Hey, listen up, after it goes off,
listen for frag, all right?
So everybody be quiet.
Goddamn.
All right. I'm just gonna look
down the alley,
make sure it's all fucking gone,
all right?
Check.
Let's walk around the corner here.
I've got two guys up there.
Two guys running?
No, they're not running.
They're walking.
Spot it.
See what you've got.
They just went down behind
like a fucking little berm
or some shit.
Is that shooting at us?
Whoa!
That's live fire.
Hey, let's go!
Where's the fucking target at?
Give me a goddamn shot at them.
For Christ sakes,
at the fucking ones you see.
You see a guy out there,
you fucking hit him.
See the brown?
Show it to him.
Show it to him.
It's 12:00.
Yeah.
One shooter on top of the roof.
We spotted him.
We're gonna take a long shot
and knock him out.
Now copy.
Slow and methodical.
Look at those motherfuckers
and hit them.
Bring the other one.
Give me a shot at it.
Hey, put your head down, Perry.
You ready?
Go.
We got a hit!
We got confirmation.
Did you volunteer to do this job?
Yes, I did.
Gets a little fun sometimes,
a little crazy others.
- Did you see that?
- Keep eyes on him.
We're going over the wall.
They're going into
this fucking building.
- John!
- John!
- John!
- Get over the damn wall.
Find out what the guy's waving at.
You think we speak Pashto?
Get the fuck over here.
He called me a motherfucker!
This little son of a bitch!
Come on, hey.
He's 20 years old.
- Is he really 20 years old?
- Yeah.
That's freaky.
He said, "I stay here."
You stay here?
Yeah, it's good.
He can stay here with us.
Tell him we're gonna kill
whatever needs to be killed.
Tell him we're gonna find the Taliban.
We're gonna kill 'em.
Go back there.
Is it safe to walk here?
Is there any more Taliban bombs?
Any there?
Ask him.
No, no, no, no, no!
He says there's nothing.
No mines, no IEDs.
Hey, let's go.
He is the father of these guys.
- He is?
- Yeah.
He's been stuck in the house.
He can't pray.
Right there.
That's mortars.
That did not sound good.
Get inside!
Is there any way we can get eyes up...
So, anything else?
We would just like to rent
this place out for the night.
- For tonight?
- Yep.
No, they'll stay here with us.
They'll be okay to stay here with us.
- For tonight?
- For tonight.
This is good.
We're good?
Give me a mad dash.
Mad dash.
Roger.
All right.
Yeah, they're on the southeast side.
It sounds like it's coming from
the building directly east
of a mosque.
...from across the street.
Hey, George.
I'm gonna pop out.
You just run to the middle of...
Keep your head down.
Fucking death!
Yeah!
In that compound!
My direct front!
I said 600!
Six, zero, zero.
Did they shoot the sandbag?
I don't think so, sir.
It sure looked like
he shot the sandbag to me.
He did.
Sniper.
Most psychologically effective
weapon on the battlefield,
'cause there's nothing
you can do about it, you know.
Hey, sir, who you got up there?
Koenig and Langdon.
Langdon.
Yeah.
That's him firing.
I wanted what direction
they hear this from.
I came up and I turned around
to get my rifle past me
and as I turned around,
I guess my head was just
a little above the sandbags
and he shot,
and he ended up hitting me
directly in the head.
And it cracked me back and I was dazed
and didn't really know
what was going on,
and I just told...
I was like, "I'm hit."
But this is where it hit...
about an inch above my eye.
And this is the mount where it hit.
This is what they say stopped
the round
from actually coming through
the Kevlar.
It hurt like really, really bad.
I thought I was dying.
I thought I'd actually been hit.
So it scared me pretty bad.
Where does Koenig think
it's coming from, do you know?
He said 200 or 300 meters
from the cracks.
Bossman, stay motivated.
Clear the enemy out,
and let the people return.
General McChrystal
and every expert did talks
about counterinsurgency,
you know, that we pretty clearly
understand now
that the key to winning
any fight like this
is to control the population and...
Not control them, but...
I don't want to use
"win hearts and minds,"
but that's basically it,
you know, to get the people
on your side,
and let them understand
that you're here for them.
Afghans believe more of what they see
than what they hear.
This is a struggle for the
support of the Afghan people.
A willingness to operate in ways
that minimize causalities or damage,
even when doing so makes
our task more difficult,
is essential to our credibility.
The hope for NATO...
trying to win support
among the locals.
Civilian deaths in Afghanistan
have put pressure on foreign troops
trying to win the trust
and support from citizens.
I cannot overstate my commitment
to the importance of this concept.
There we go.
We've done this before.
We do have three individuals KIA
in the field.
- Nice.
- Three.
We got three.
Three guys dead.
Building Number 29.
The general's got to have his feed.
That's what...
And north, 1,800 meters.
Egress, right pulls into the overhead,
advise ready for final remarks.
Line 8, 1,800 meters northwest.
That is northwest, 1,800 meters.
We got everything we need?
Roger, that is confirmed.
That is your target.
We are waiting approval.
We're trying to get fucking clearance.
We've been watching them
for 30 minutes prior to this.
Where's... Where's 6?
A firm hawk hold for now.
Abort for now.
Fuck.
Could have gone off in the smoke,
but we didn't definitely see it.
Did they miss? Huh?
Gunny and I will be in the rear
with our headquarters.
Give you EOD.
All right.
There's a nice sturdy wall here
we'll follow down.
There's a little trench here,
set up right here,
and this is where we were at.
- Right.
- Good?
I'm good, sir.
Any questions?
Rios?
You know what your job is?
How many...
Are bringing all three?
Empty, empty.
Leave it, leave it.
Same shit you did last night, man.
You're fine.
Leave it.
Just leave it.
You're pointing at people.
Leave it.
You're good.
Step time.
Is your boys ready, chart ready?
Yeah, we're ready.
Roger.
Be advised.
There is mass movements
around Buildings 29 and 15.
Copy?
Let's go!
Now get it.
Go, go!
Get in.
Go in that building.
So we need to get in there
and clear this building out.
Come on, let's go.
Let's go.
Look.
Over there.
I need three people up here for me.
They're on the back side
of that building somewhere.
Keep eyes in case they start
egressing to the west.
There they are!
There they are!
...the corner!
Hey, let's use them goddamn RPGs
right fucking here, dude.
Hey, 240 gunner needs to scoot
up to the edge of the wall.
You're on target,
but scoot the fuck up!
I hit that front guy.
He's fucking dead!
That's what I like to hear, baby!
I hit that guy
right in the fucking head.
Fuck, yeah.
That was intense.
Man, those fucking assholes
were using those kids
and women as cover
to get out of there.
Horse shit, man!
Give me a 203.
Come here.
Here's what I want you to hit.
See those three trees right there?
Those big ones?
- You see those big tall ones?
- Yeah.
Just right on the other side
of that building,
I want you to pepper them.
Range is 300.
The next shot
that comes from Building 7,
you're gonna whip it through
that fucking right window.
Do you understand?
That's the one
that's been shooting at us.
All from the Porkchop.
Holy fuck!
Holy shit!
You got some ass.
Solid copy.
Again, were in Building 4
and pretty sure that 3 took contact
from either Building 10 or 11.
It was right on top of us.
Yeah, victory is achieved.
Okay. Spread out.
The eggs made it, yeah?
That's pretty impressive.
The eggs survived.
The eggs survive
and everything else goes.
Look out.
Look at our position from here.
That roof right there
is where we ambushed them.
That's the roof you guys were on?
Yep.
I was behind that little
triangle thing, standing up.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah.
As you can see from here,
it's a perfect position.
It totally isolates
the entire rest of the town.
They had nowhere to go.
We had them completely trapped.
You weren't that far, then.
These bitches didn't have a chance.
NO.
And they had no idea we were up there.
- No, they didn't.
- No.
Huge moral victory for the company.
Oh, my gosh!
Those didn't work,
did they, motherfucker?
- Yeah.
- Oh, yeah.
He died right where he was laying.
He had his hand...
Rigor mortis had set in
around his... around the rifle,
so he was still gripping it.
I think
it's a 8-millimeter Mauser.
What are you gonna do with him?
- What, him?
- Yeah.
I don't believe we're gonna do
anything with him.
We're gonna just leave him there.
They say he was not Taliban,
but they force him to keep him there.
The Taliban force him,
give them gun to...
This is it.
We roughly knew where he was.
Perfect sniper position.
Look.
Look at our post.
Roger, COC, I believe we've identified
the sniper position. Break.
There's a vertical loophole
in the wall here. Break.
It has perfect side alignment
for the post
where the snipers were hit.
Break.
And we found 17 556 rounds.
Copy.
He shot from right about
where you're at.
And was one of
your men shot from here?
Three of them, actually.
Or four.
Three medevacs, for sure.
So he was probably sitting back
in the room in the shadow
where we couldn't see indication
of his weapon at all.
Shooting through the slit in the wall.
Perfect angle.
To know that he has to be
far enough back
so that his muzzle flash isn't seen,
and, certainly, to engage targets,
you know, he was hitting them
in the chest
and in the head from back here,
so he was probably
well-trained military.
- Absolutely.
- Yep.
What military would have trained him?
Possibly ours, at some point.
Probably using a weapon
that we supplied them
in some way or other.
But good to know we found
his spot and we own it now.
We're burning daylight.
This is done.
Yeah.
All right.
- Are we ready?
- Yeah.
All right, let's go.
Let's continue the game.
They're all wired in
with electrical wire,
daisy-chained to make them
simultaneously detonate.
Actually, the most complex one
I've done in country so far.
The intention was to catch
a hole to all of them at once
in the alleyway.
This is probably 150 meters.
Yeah, these are probably
the best-looking ordnance
I've seen in this country.
It's heavy metal.
The det cord goes off
and pushes everything out...
out the front of it.
It just works like a big cannon
with a bunch of crap stuffed in it.
Ooh, nice!
It's a bit like swimming in the ocean.
You'd never do it
if you knew how many sharks
there really were.
That's the money shot.
Down!
Take cover!
We would have been killed already.
Get in there!
Go, go. Stay here.
Sit.
Sit the fuck down.
Sit down.
Sit.
- Sit.
- Sit.
Sit down.
You sit down.
Sit down!
Sit down.
No, no, no.
There you go.
There you go.
Yeah. There you go.
See it?
Pretty much a cylinder with explosives
and a whole bunch of nasty frag
that they stick in it.
It's pretty much pointed
right at you right now.
Gonna try and burn this one out.
There.
A general says
U.S.-led forces control
the roads and markets
in the Taliban stronghold.
A battle going well.
Taliban finished.
Taliban go.
The next part is to hold
the area that we have.
Once we push the enemy out,
we have to hold security here
and allow the people
to start to move back in
and resume their daily lives.
And then from there, we have to...
You know, we build on,
you know, what we've established.
We help them, you know,
open their schools back up
and open their bazaars back up
and establish police stations
and the local government
and, you know,
allow the local government
to start, you know, building
their projects as well.
So that, you know,
in the grand scheme,
that's kind of how
counterinsurgency works.
Gentlemen, thank you all for coming.
My name's Captain Ryan Sparks.
We're very happy.
It's a great day that we can...
You know, the Taliban are gone
and we can finally start
to open your bazaar back up.
Get all of your stores repaired,
fix anything that's broken
so that you can start your life
again as soon as possible.
Hey, first store open, baby!
The Taliban will eventually lose
their freedom of movement,
they'll become irrelevant,
and they'll just dissipate.
They'll become irrelevant.
We're gonna move back
to the marketplace
and beef up security
and help out. Copy.
Clear copy. When you get here,
we'll work through the details.
Over.
Any of you guys seen Maclean?
You here for this meeting?
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
You got the civil affairs guy?
I got Gunny "D."
Burwa. Yeah.
- Yeah, is he here?
- No. He didn't come with us.
'Cause he's the guy who's
actually handling the payment.
Okay.
So 17 total.
There were 17 people in the house
and four were killed.
- Four?
- Four were killed, yeah.
We're going to talk to the guy.
Right.
You're looking at the definition
of innocent people.
There's no question about it.
You know, little girls.
I mean, there's just no way
to rationalize
that this was in any way
a good thing or justified.
It's just...
It's just a terrible feeling
and a terrible sight.
I was waiting for you to call me
to come out
and to take me to a safe place
I don't know what happened.
Somebody fired...
Something happened.
One family is almost finished.
There's only one child left,
and the other family got two injured.
There are four deceased.
Check.
Tell him I'm very sorry,
and I can feel his pain.
I know what he's going through.
We're really sorry
for what happened yesterday.
It pains us all here
to know what you must be
going through right now
with the loss that you just suffered.
There's not...
There's nothing we can do
to bring back your loss.
What we can do is try to help you out
by giving you
the very least that we can
with a payment for your losses.
So...
...what I'll do now
is I'll present him
with the condolence payment.
And, like I said,
it's the absolute least that we can do
because, obviously, there's...
You can't bring back someone you love.
Again, I'm deeply sorry.
Yalma, this is for you,
for your losses.
You know, the U.S. Marines,
the citizens of Afghanistan,
and the government of Afghanistan
together can achieve great things
to make Afghanistan a safer and
more prosperous place for all.
I've been told this by Afghans before.
"I don't mind Marines.
I don't mind Taliban.
I just want everyone to leave me
alone and lead my...
I want to lead my life," you know.
And I think
there's something to be said
for that point of view.
And, certainly,
if you've lost family members,
I couldn't stand in front of you
and tell you otherwise,
and that's...
it's not really my place.
I don't know.
If I was in his shoes...
It's almost like there's
two entirely different levels.
There's the political level,
and then there's the level
on the ground.
I'm not quite sure I've entirely
reconciled them for myself
right now.
I don't know.
Yeah. Here we go.
So NATO has staked a
lot on this operation in Marjah.
How is it defining success?
This whole Marjah offensive
is all about bringing governance,
as General McChrystal has said,
"government in a box."
Bring in what they're calling
"government in a box"
and show the locals that
the central Afghan government
can try to take over operations.
We need more troops,
training, and assistance,
and that's why we are increasing
our efforts
to train Afghan security forces.
It is slower and harder
than we anticipated.
I do not want to underestimate
or understate the challenge.
Very important test case
to find out if the new
U.S. strategy will work.
We refurbished the whole mosque,
put their fancy minarets up there.
And you've got to see Gunny "D" Park,
which is what they call it.
We keep trying to change
the name. They won't let us.
We're trying to get it
to "Freedom Park."
But they redid this whole...
All the walls on the outside
of this mosque.
Yeah, here's the park.
We're pretty proud of this right here.
As you can tell, the benches are
a little slanted right there,
but we're working on that.
Because these people
aren't used to benches here,
so...
Assalamu alaikum.
'Cause we're trying to create
a little local economy here
around the bazaar,
that eventually it becomes
self-sufficient.
So we start out with,
you know, cash for work
and quick-impact projects
to get the bazaar clean
and to get it functioning again.
And then that injects money
into the bazaar.
That's kind of the overall plan.
Working good so far.
He was the guy that was fucking
telling all the rest of them
What to do.
Our exit strategy.
This turns into the police,
then we go to the next village,
turn it into the police,
and then we go home.
Is he currently in good health?
Yes.
The reality is is that six months ago,
I'm sure some of these guys
were Taliban.
We'll see what happens.
Holy crap!
- Holy shit.
- Fucking rifle.
Barely missed!
I'd say that just barely missed, huh?
That whistled past.
Definitely the most difficult
tour I've done.
And...
You know,
in order for me to do my job,
I have to have some loyalty and faith.
But the Taliban are still here
and we still are taking casualties,
you know, every couple of days...
Well, not every couple of days.
Once a week, once every two weeks,
you know, somebody gets shot
in the arm or shot in the leg
or, you know...
So it's...it wears on you.
And it wears on the Marines.
These people, I don't...
They're not like Americans how...
There's no way you can trust them.
They let the Taliban beat them.
But if it comes to one of us
saying the wrong phrase
or anything to these people,
they just lose their lid,
you know, 'cause we're Americans
and "that Taliban was from
the same tribe as me," you know.
It's ridiculous.
It's a mind fuck.
It's frustrating,
and that's a losing ballgame.
You know, Marines don't fight wars.
Marines fight battles.
And I think, you know,
Marjah is an example of that.
You know, the war on terror
or whatever happens here,
you know, in the next months,
in the next year,
whatever this place was like
before we got here,
whatever impact we had here,
we had our operation order
and we fought the battle.
And the other stuff,
I think, will drive you crazy.
We are pressing forward
in Afghanistan...
...from Marjah to Kandahar.
So make no mistake.
We have a clear goal.
This is the area that we stopped
trying to control out that way.
It kind of...
Our area of control fades a little bit
as soon as you get about a click
away from here.
It gradually gets worse.
But this is the edge
of where we're really actively
trying to secure the area.
Literally right there, that road.
This is probably one of
the most hostile places
in Afghanistan still.
Might as well be a different country.
Yep.