As Marja fighting continues, U.S. deaths will be ‘tough’ to bear, Petraeus says

Predicting that the level of U.S. casualties in the ongoing fight to win control of the southern Afghan town of Marja will be “tough” to bear, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus said Sunday that the assault was just the beginning of a 12- to 18-month campaign to wipe out safe havens for the Taliban and other Islamic militants.

“These types of efforts are hard, and they’re hard all the time,” Petraeus said. “I don’t use words like ‘optimist’ or ‘pessimist,’ I use ‘realist.’ . . . We’re in Afghanistan to ensure it cannot once again be a sanctuary for the kinds of attacks that were carried out on 9/11.”

The flow of 30,000 new troops that President Obama recently ordered to the region -- 5,400 have arrived so far -- is starting to produce “output,” with the Marja operation the “initial salvo” in the overall campaign, the head of the U.S. Central Command said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” praised the “comprehensive strategy” by which the Obama administration was ratcheting up the pressure on Al Qaeda and other extremist groups in Afghanistan.

Powell said the success of the current assault can’t be judged yet, as U.S. Marines and other NATO forces fight to clear the Taliban out of Marja, in troubled Helmand province.

“The whole success of this operation will hinge on the ability of the Afghan government . . . to keep people from coming back,” said Powell, noting that Americans and other allied forces “can’t stay forever.”

Generals on the ground are focused on carrying out the operation, part of a larger plan to put the country more securely under the control of Afghan authorities. Thirteen NATO service members, including at least eight Marines, have died since the offensive began Feb. 13.

In his interview with NBC’s David Gregory, Petraeus suggested that deaths are inevitable, given the intensity of the action in Marja.

“When we go on the offensive, when we take away sanctuaries or safe havens, they’re going to fight back, and we’re seeing that in Marja,” Petraeus said. “But we are going after them across the spectrum.”

cparsons@latimes.com