Fox News cameraman Rich Harlow and I spent most of February in Helmand Province with the U.S. Marines. First at Camp Leatherneck, the main U.S. base in Helmand and then in Marjah where 10,000 or so U.S. Marines, Brits and Afghan soldiers are trying to remove the Taliban from the city.

It was both a great and very frustrating trip. But we managed to turn a few stories that seemed to be well received. This one focuses on the daily complexities of fighting a war while at the same time trying to limit civilian deaths. I can tell you despite the large number of civilian deaths during the fight for Marjah, the grunts of 3/6 Marines -which we were embedded with- were very disciplined and really did take to heart the two fold mission they were given: root out the Taliban and protect civilians.

I also seemed to have picked up at least one critic. JE Tabler of the Real News Blog seems to think I support terrorists because I was wearing a Keffiyeh -or Shemagh as a scarf is known in Afghanistan. Here is part of his post.

With winds at times hitting 40mph+, temperatures well below freezing at night, and dust and sand a constant problem many people wear Shemaghs in Afghanistan – particularly in the Helmand. Including many of the Marines.

US troops have been wearing them in Afghanistan, Iraq and the larger Middle East region for years. Last time I checked they don’t support terrorists either.