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Coordinates: 31°31′N 64°07′E / 31.517°N 64.117°E / 31.517; 64.117
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{{Short description | Town in Helmand Province, Afghanistan}}

{{Infobox settlement
{{Infobox settlement
<!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
<!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
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<!-- Location ------------------>
<!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = [[Afghanistan]]
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Afghanistan}}
|subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Afghanistan|Province]]
|subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Afghanistan|Province]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Helmand Province]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Helmand Province]]
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|subdivision_type4 =
|subdivision_type4 =
|subdivision_name4 =
|subdivision_name4 =
| parts_type = Occupation
| parts_style = para
| p1 = [[File:Flag of Taliban.svg|25px]] [[Taliban]]
<!-- Population ----------------------->
<!-- Population ----------------------->
|population_as_of =
|population_as_of =
|population_footnotes = <ref name=pop1>{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Thompson |title=U.S. Troops Prepare to Test Obama's Afghan War Plan |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1962126,00.html?xid=rss-topstories |publisher=''[[TIME]]'' |date=2010-02-09 |accessdate=2010-02-09 |quote=A town of 80,000, Marja...}}</ref><ref name=pop2>{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Perry |title=In Afghanistan, Marines ready attack on Taliban redoubt |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghanistan-assault4-2010feb04,0,6261652.story |publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' |date=2010-02-03 |accessdate=2010-02-03 |quote=Marja, with a population estimated at 85,000...}}</ref><ref name=pop3>{{cite news |first=Miguel |last=Marquez |title=Afghanistan: Marines Gear Up for Biggest Fight Yet |url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/afghanistan-us-marines-face-biggest-fight/story?id=9734858 |publisher=[[ABC News]] |date=2010-02-03 |accessdate=2010-02-03 |quote=Marja and the surrounding area, with an estimated population of 125,000...}}</ref>
|population_footnotes = <ref name=pop1>{{cite magazine |first=Mark |last=Thompson |title=U.S. Troops Prepare to Test Obama's Afghan War Plan |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1962126,00.html?xid=rss-topstories |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214143952/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1962126,00.html?xid=rss-topstories |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 14, 2010 |magazine=[[TIME]] |date=2010-02-09 |access-date=2010-02-09 |quote=A town of 80,000, Marja...}}</ref><ref name=pop2>{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Perry |title=In Afghanistan, Marines ready attack on Taliban redoubt |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghanistan-assault4-2010feb04,0,6261652.story |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=2010-02-03 |access-date=2010-02-03 |quote=Marja, with a population estimated at 85,000...}}</ref><ref name=pop3>{{cite news |first=Miguel |last=Marquez |title=Afghanistan: Marines Gear Up for Biggest Fight Yet |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/afghanistan-us-marines-face-biggest-fight/story?id=9734858 |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=2010-02-03 |access-date=2010-02-03 |quote=Marja and the surrounding area, with an estimated population of 125,000...}}</ref>
|population_note =
|population_note =
|population_total =80-85,000 (disputed)<br>125,000 (with surrounding area - also disputed)
|population_total =80-85,000 (disputed)<br>125,000 (with surrounding area - also disputed)
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|elevation_ft =
|elevation_ft =
}}
}}
'''Marjah''' (also spelled '''Marjeh'''; [[Pashto language|Pashto]]/{{lang-fa|{{nq|مارجه}}}}) is an agricultural [[town]] in southern [[Afghanistan]]. It has been reported to have a population between 80,000 and 125,000, but some sources argue that its population is much smaller and is spread across 80 to 125 km², an area larger than [[Cleveland]] or [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite news|title=POLITICS: Fiction of Marja as City Was U.S. Information War|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/03/politics-fiction-of-marja-as-city-was-us-information-war/|first=Gareth|last=Porter|agency=[[Inter Press Service]]|date=8 March 2010|accessdate=9 August 2017}}</ref> Another source described Marjah as "a cluster of villages" and "a community of 60,000 persons".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Suhrke|first1=Astri|title=When More is Less: The International Project in Afghanistan|date=2011|publisher=C. Hurst|location=London|isbn=978-1-84904-164-5|pages=63, 64}}</ref> The town sits in [[Nad Ali District]] of [[Helmand Province]], southwest of the provincial capital [[Lashkar Gah]].
'''Marjah''' (also spelled '''Marjeh'''; [[Pashto language|Pashto]]/{{langx|fa|{{nq|مارجه}}}}) is an agricultural [[town]] in southern [[Afghanistan]]. It has been reported to have a population between 80,000 and 125,000, but some sources argue that its population is much smaller and is spread across 80 to 125&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, an area larger than [[Cleveland]] or [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite news|title=POLITICS: Fiction of Marja as City Was U.S. Information War|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/03/politics-fiction-of-marja-as-city-was-us-information-war/|first=Gareth|last=Porter|agency=[[Inter Press Service]]|date=8 March 2010|access-date=9 August 2017}}</ref> Another source described Marjah as "a cluster of villages" and "a community of 60,000 persons".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Suhrke|first1=Astri|title=When More is Less: The International Project in Afghanistan|date=2011|publisher=C. Hurst|location=London|isbn=978-1-84904-164-5|pages=63, 64}}</ref> The town sits in [[Nad Ali District]] of [[Helmand Province]], southwest of the provincial capital [[Lashkar Gah]].

[[Operation Moshtarak]] (or the Battle of Marjah) took place in the area.


==Population and economy==
==Population and economy==
Marjah is geographically situated in one of Afghanistan's major belts of [[poppy]] fields,<ref name=NYT20100203>{{cite news |first=Rod |last=Nordland |title=Military Officials Say Afghan Fight Is Coming |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/world/asia/04taliban.html?hp |publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' |date=2010-02-03 |accessdate=2010-02-03}}</ref> which are a source of funds for the [[Taliban]].<ref name=LATimes20100131>{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Perry |title=Marine assault vehicles key to Afghan strategy |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/31/world/la-fg-afghan-marines31-2010jan31 |publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' |date=2010-01-31 |accessdate=2010-02-04}}</ref> According to one figure, 10% of global illicit opium production in the year 2000 originated from the Marjah/Nad-i-Ali area.<ref>{{cite book |first=Joel |last=Hafvenstein |title=Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier |publisher=Globe Pequot |year=2007 |isbn=1-59921-131-9 |page=157 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QflBCoDVn30C&pg=PA157&dq=marja+afghanistan&num=100&cd=46#v=onepage&q=marja%20afghanistan&f=false}}</ref> During the 1950s and 1960s the United States funded a scheme, run by the [[Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority]], to irrigate the fields around Marjah (Lashkar Gah/Helmand was nicknamed "Little America"), with many canals remaining to this day.<ref name=pop1/><ref name=LATimes20100131/>
Marjah is geographically situated in one of Afghanistan's major belts of [[poppy]] fields,<ref name=NYT20100203>{{cite news |first=Rod |last=Nordland |title=Military Officials Say Afghan Fight Is Coming |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/world/asia/04taliban.html?hp |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=2010-02-03 |access-date=2010-02-03}}</ref> which are a source of funds for the [[Taliban]].<ref name=LATimes20100131>{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Perry |title=Marine assault vehicles key to Afghan strategy |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jan-31-la-fg-afghan-marines31-2010jan31-story.html |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=2010-01-31 |access-date=2010-02-04}}</ref> According to one figure, 10% of global illicit opium production in the year 2000 originated from the Marjah/Nad-i-Ali area.<ref>{{cite book |first=Joel |last=Hafvenstein |title=Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier |publisher=Globe Pequot |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-59921-131-2 |page=157 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QflBCoDVn30C&q=marja+afghanistan&pg=PA157}}</ref> During the 1950s and 1960s the United States funded a scheme, run by the [[Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority]], to irrigate the fields around Marjah (Lashkar Gah/Helmand was nicknamed "Little America"), with many canals remaining to this day.<ref name=pop1/><ref name=LATimes20100131/>


In conjunction with this American-led development, which included building and staffing a number of local schools, the Afghan government jump-started a program in 1959 to resettle [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] nomads to the area, providing them each with "almost 15 acres of land, two oxen and free seeds", with a focus on growing wheat.<ref name=WaPo20100210>{{cite news |first=Rajiv |last=Chandrasekaran |title=Marines plan joint mission to eject insurgents from last Helmand stronghold |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020903511_pf.html |publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=2010-02-10 |accessdate=2010-02-10}}</ref> Besides facing a number of technical problems,
In conjunction with this American-led development, which included building and staffing a number of local schools, the Afghan government jump-started a program in 1959 to resettle [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] nomads to the area, providing them each with "almost 15 acres of land, two oxen and free seeds", with a focus on growing wheat.<ref name=WaPo20100210>{{cite news |first=Rajiv |last=Chandrasekaran |title=Marines plan joint mission to eject insurgents from last Helmand stronghold |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020903511_pf.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=2010-02-10 |access-date=2010-02-10}}</ref>


==Climate==
==Climate==
Data collected in the 1950s in the Marjah/Chah-i-Anjirs area showed an average rainfall of over one inch per month from December through March, peaking in January at 2.46 inches. The rest of the year experienced little or no precipitation, and besides January, there was actually a consistent net loss of water through evaporation. June, July, and August experienced average high temperatures of over {{convert|100|°F|°C}}, while the average lows in winter bottomed out at just above freezing in December and January.<ref>{{cite book |first=Aloys Arthur |last=Michel |title=The Kabul, Kunduz, and Helmand Valleys and the national economy of Afghanistan: a study of regional resources and the comparative advantages of development |publisher=National Academies |year=1959 |pages=142–145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yk0rAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false}}</ref>
Data collected in the 1950s in the Marjah/Chah-i-Anjirs area showed an average rainfall of over one inch per month from December through March, peaking in January at 2.46 inches. The rest of the year experienced little or no precipitation, and besides January, there was actually a consistent net loss of water through evaporation. June, July, and August experienced average high temperatures of over {{convert|100|°F|°C}}, while the average lows in winter bottomed out at just above freezing in December and January.<ref>{{cite book |first=Aloys Arthur |last=Michel |title=The Kabul, Kunduz, and Helmand Valleys and the national economy of Afghanistan: a study of regional resources and the comparative advantages of development |publisher=National Academies |year=1959 |pages=142–145 |isbn=9780598753779 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yk0rAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
⚫
{{commonscat|Marjah, Afghanistan}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
⚫
{{Commons category|Marjah, Afghanistan}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.alternet.org/world/145971/marjah%3A_the_non-existent_city_the_military_said_we_conquered_in_afghanistan|title=Marjah: The Non-Existent City the Military Said We Conquered in Afghanistan| work=AlterNet|author=Gareth Porter}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.alternet.org/world/145971/marjah%3A_the_non-existent_city_the_military_said_we_conquered_in_afghanistan|title=Marjah: The Non-Existent City the Military Said We Conquered in Afghanistan| work=AlterNet|author=Gareth Porter}}
* {{cite news|title=Marjah offensive: Q&A on why it matters to Afghanistan war |author=David Guttenfelder|work=Christian Science Monitor|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0209/Marjah-offensive-Q-A-on-why-it-matters-to-Afghanistan-war}}
* {{cite news|title=Marjah offensive: Q&A on why it matters to Afghanistan war |author=David Guttenfelder|work=Christian Science Monitor|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0209/Marjah-offensive-Q-A-on-why-it-matters-to-Afghanistan-war}}

{{Helmand Province}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|31|31|N|64|07|E|display=title|region:AF_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}
{{Coord|31|31|N|64|07|E|display=title|region:AF_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}


Latest revision as of 15:21, 5 November 2024

Marjah
مارجه
U.S. Marines on a patrol next to a poppy field in 2010
U.S. Marines on a patrol next to a poppy field in 2010
Marjah is located in Afghanistan
Marjah
Marjah
Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 31°31′N 64°07′E / 31.517°N 64.117°E / 31.517; 64.117
Country Afghanistan
ProvinceHelmand Province
DistrictNad Ali
Population
[1][2][3]
 • Total80−85,000 (disputed)
125,000 (with surrounding area - also disputed)
Time zoneUTC+4:30

Marjah (also spelled Marjeh; Pashto/Persian: مارجه) is an agricultural town in southern Afghanistan. It has been reported to have a population between 80,000 and 125,000, but some sources argue that its population is much smaller and is spread across 80 to 125 km2, an area larger than Cleveland or Washington, D.C.[4] Another source described Marjah as "a cluster of villages" and "a community of 60,000 persons".[5] The town sits in Nad Ali District of Helmand Province, southwest of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.

Operation Moshtarak (or the Battle of Marjah) took place in the area.

Population and economy

[edit]

Marjah is geographically situated in one of Afghanistan's major belts of poppy fields,[6] which are a source of funds for the Taliban.[7] According to one figure, 10% of global illicit opium production in the year 2000 originated from the Marjah/Nad-i-Ali area.[8] During the 1950s and 1960s the United States funded a scheme, run by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority, to irrigate the fields around Marjah (Lashkar Gah/Helmand was nicknamed "Little America"), with many canals remaining to this day.[1][7]

In conjunction with this American-led development, which included building and staffing a number of local schools, the Afghan government jump-started a program in 1959 to resettle Pashtun nomads to the area, providing them each with "almost 15 acres of land, two oxen and free seeds", with a focus on growing wheat.[9]

Climate

[edit]

Data collected in the 1950s in the Marjah/Chah-i-Anjirs area showed an average rainfall of over one inch per month from December through March, peaking in January at 2.46 inches. The rest of the year experienced little or no precipitation, and besides January, there was actually a consistent net loss of water through evaporation. June, July, and August experienced average high temperatures of over 100 °F (38 °C), while the average lows in winter bottomed out at just above freezing in December and January.[10]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Thompson, Mark (2010-02-09). "U.S. Troops Prepare to Test Obama's Afghan War Plan". TIME. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-09. A town of 80,000, Marja...
  2. ^ Perry, Tony (2010-02-03). "In Afghanistan, Marines ready attack on Taliban redoubt". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-02-03. Marja, with a population estimated at 85,000...
  3. ^ Marquez, Miguel (2010-02-03). "Afghanistan: Marines Gear Up for Biggest Fight Yet". ABC News. Retrieved 2010-02-03. Marja and the surrounding area, with an estimated population of 125,000...
  4. ^ Porter, Gareth (8 March 2010). "POLITICS: Fiction of Marja as City Was U.S. Information War". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  5. ^ Suhrke, Astri (2011). When More is Less: The International Project in Afghanistan. London: C. Hurst. pp. 63, 64. ISBN 978-1-84904-164-5.
  6. ^ Nordland, Rod (2010-02-03). "Military Officials Say Afghan Fight Is Coming". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  7. ^ a b Perry, Tony (2010-01-31). "Marine assault vehicles key to Afghan strategy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  8. ^ Hafvenstein, Joel (2007). Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier. Globe Pequot. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-59921-131-2.
  9. ^ Chandrasekaran, Rajiv (2010-02-10). "Marines plan joint mission to eject insurgents from last Helmand stronghold". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  10. ^ Michel, Aloys Arthur (1959). The Kabul, Kunduz, and Helmand Valleys and the national economy of Afghanistan: a study of regional resources and the comparative advantages of development. National Academies. pp. 142–145. ISBN 9780598753779.

Further reading

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marjah, Afghanistan.

31°31′N 64°07′E / 31.517°N 64.117°E / 31.517; 64.117

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