American, Afghan Forces Prepare Offensive in Afghanistan
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning, 11 minutes past the hour now. It is the largest military operation since the war in Afghanistan started. We're talking about the battle to seize Marjah, the Taliban's last major strong hold in the country. The mission is to establish security and then gain the trust of 80,000 Afghani citizens, and it's a daunting challenge. CNN's Atia Abawi has an exclusive look now at how commanders are getting their troops ready for battle.</s>ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At a fire base in Helmand province, they first battalion, sixth marine regiment prepares for combat. This regiment has fought in two world wars, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Today it has a new ally on the battlefield. Brigadier General Mohayedin Ghori of the Afghan army wishes his soldiers luck and says thanks to the marines who will be fighting alongside his men. "You've made the best live for yourselves," General Mohayedin says, "you've built the best country, your people depend on you. You're the pride of your country, and now you've come from many miles away to help us." Although his soldiers say they are ready to fight, they also say they don't have proper equipment. "We don't have things like night vision," Commander Gholam Rasoul Takan says, "and it leaves us unprepared." General Mohayedin and Brigadier General Larry Nicholson are going from base to base, explaining the importance of the Marjah offensive and the importance of distinguishing civilians from the Taliban.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The population is looking for you. The enemy is not the population. We do have an enemy who will try to hide in the population. That's why we've got to be very careful and we've got to be very disciplined and we've got to be very accurate.</s>ABAWI: Marjah, a town of 80,000, is considered the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand province.</s>ABAWI (on camera): Both the U.S. marines and the Afghan soldiers have been preparing for battle of Marjah for months now, but today a visit from the commanding general is proof that the battle is about to commence.</s>ABAWI (voice-over): This isn't first time many of these men have fought in Helmand. The marines cleared the Taliban out of another area in 2008. But the enemy has changed.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it will be a little harder. They actually know how to fight this year. Last year they kind of -- used a lot of guerilla tactics, shoot and run. This year I think they'll try and stay around.</s>ABAWI: General Nicholson agrees.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of our units will go into some pretty heavy contact, and I think some of our units may have less contact. We don't know. All I know is we've done everything we can to prepare, and on the eve of this big operation, I think we're ready.</s>ABAWI: Ready, but there are still some light hearted moments.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our secret weapon. You don't want to mess with this guy, I tell you that.</s>ABAWI: Ahead of these soldiers, many unknowns -- will the Taliban fight or melt away? How many roadside bombs await them? And can they help turn the tide of this eight-year war? Atia Abawi, CNN, Fire Base Fiddler's Green, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.</s>CHETRY: And coming up at 8:30 eastern this morning, we'll talk with two experts of Afghanistan. They'll talk about the strategy in Marjah, how to win over the locals there, and what taking back this Taliban stronghold could mean for the war.</s>HOLMES: Also coming up, we're Minding your Business. Christine Romans sits down with a former treasury secretary who will explain what exactly kept him up at night during the financial crisis and why it still keeps him up at night now.