Operation Moshtarak

A NATO-led offensive launched in February 2010 to clear Taliban forces from Marjah and nearby areas in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. It combined combat operations with an effort to establish Afghan government control.

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International Security Assistance Force: A NATO-led international military mission that operated in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. ISAF supplied the international command structure and forces for the offensive.
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021): An armed conflict in Afghanistan involving the United States, its allies, the Afghan government, and the Taliban from 2001 to 2021. The offensive was one campaign in the wider war against the Taliban insurgency.
Jim Dutton: A British Royal Marines officer who served as deputy commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He was a senior NATO commander during the planning and launch of the offensive.
Afghan Local Police: A U.S.-supported Afghan community security force established in 2010 and trained to protect local areas. Local security forces were part of the effort to keep Taliban fighters from returning after the assault.
Operation Khanjar: A U.S. Marine offensive launched in July 2009 in Helmand Province to secure population centers against the Taliban. It was an earlier Marine campaign in Helmand, smaller and less internationally prominent than the Marjah offensive.
Afghan National Army: The ground-force branch of Afghanistan’s national military before the Taliban takeover in 2021. Afghan troops fought alongside international forces during the Marjah campaign.
Taliban insurgency: An armed campaign by the Taliban against Afghanistan’s government and its international military supporters. Taliban control and influence in Helmand prompted the operation.
Richard Mills: A United States Marine Corps lieutenant general who commanded Marine forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province in 2010. He led the Marine component of the operation.
Counterinsurgency: A political and military strategy for defeating an insurgency by reducing its support and extending government control. The campaign’s success depended on more than defeating Taliban fighters in combat.
Operation Enduring Freedom: The U.S.-led military operation in Afghanistan that began in 2001 after the September 11 attacks. The Marjah offensive took place within the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan.