Afghans: Taliban have escaped Helmand and Marines

By Nancy A. Youssef | McClatchy Newspapers KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters and their commanders have escaped the Marines' big offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand province and moved into areas to the west and north, prompting fears that the U.S. effort has just moved the Taliban problem elsewhere, Afghan defense officials have told McClatchy. The movement of the Taliban into those areas has prompted complaints from German and Italian commanders, whose troops operate there, and have prompted questions about whether the United States has enough troops to pursue the Taliban while at the same time carrying out Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal's plan to "clear, hold and build" in areas wrested from Taliban control. Last week, National Security Adviser James L. Jones told McClatchy that no additional troops would be sent to... [read full story]                    

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