Officials Say Afghan Fight, Long Rumored, Is Coming

In the New York Times Article, "Officials Say Afghan Fight, Long Rumored, Is Coming", Journalist, Rod Nordland talks about the upcoming joint operation in Afghanistan, involving American and Afghan troops. According to Nordland, this is the biggest offensive operation that the two sides have ever done together. The operation is titled, Operation Moshtrak. The speculation is that it is on the Taliban led town of Marja. Nordland also states that the citizens of Marja, actually have known about this for quite some time now. It is unusual that something of this magnitude is publicly known, but one benefit of this is that it can give time for civilians to leave the town, so there are not many casualties.

I don't follow much about the War In Afghanistan, but this article found a way to catch my interest. I see what they mean by the benefits that can be had by making this operation publicly known, but I see plenty of risks also. What if the Taliban leave Marja and regroup somewhere else? Also, what if they use this as an opportunity to fire back with their own attack? This to me, makes this seem more risky than beneficial. I understand why they would not want lives lost, but I think this is the wrong way to go about it. In my opinion I believe they should have stuck to what they have always done and kept this a secret. No need in changing what you do this late in the war. We need to protect our own people more than theirs.