EDITOR'S NOTE: Alfred de Montesquiou, an Associated Press correspondent embedded with US Marines in the battle for the Afghan town of Marjah, was able to observe some of the lessons of the fighting and hear from the officers in command how they are being absorbed.
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After a day spent pinned down in gunbattles or caught in a maze of roadside bombs, with little hope of air support and an erratic Afghan army to coax along, LCpl Travis Anderson reflected on the frustrations of the campaign US forces were fighting.
"I understand the reason behind it, but it's so hard to fight a war like this," the 20-year-old from Altoona, Iowa, said as his company of Marines spearheaded the ground assault to reclaim Marjah from the Taliban.
Three weeks later, the Marjah insurgents have been largely defeated. The offensive on the southern Afghan town - NATO's largest combined operation in Afghanistan - is described as the first step of an 18-month push to push the Taliban out for good.
Continues at: hosted.ap.org - Marjah push: Ups and downs are lessons for future
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