U.S. Marine commander said that there are no immediate plans to pull back the 4,000 Marines and Afghan troops in the Afghan town of Marjah until the local government has a chance to get up and running, according to AP. Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, the Marine commander in Helmand province, told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that a decision could be made later this year on whether to keep all 2,500 Marines and 1,500 Afghan troops in the area. They waged a major offensive to oust Taliban forces. Nicholson said they have not engaged in enemy fire for eight days but that officials are «very conscious of the fact that this is a very fragile area.»
